Study to Examine New Treatment for West Nile Virus

Neurological and infectious disease experts at Rush University Medical Center are studying a new drug therapy for patients diagnosed with West Nile fever or a suspected central nervous system infection due to the West Nile virus. Rush is the only site in the Midwest enrolling patients into the $50 million, NIH-funded, Phase II clinical trial called PARADIGM.

The new drug treatment for West Nile virus that is being tested, also known as MGAWN1, is a humanized monoclonal antibody, which is a drug engineered to help the body seek and destroy the virus. During the randomized, double-blind study, patients with signs and symptoms of West Nile virus will receive either a single infusion of MGAWN1 or a placebo.

"Currently, there are no approved treatments for people with severe West Nile virus infection, and there is no standard of care that is highly effective against it," said  Russell Bartt, MD, neurologist and lead site investigator of the study at Rush. "Patients with the disease are hospitalized and receive supportive care."

Hospitalized patients infected with West Nile will receive a dose of the monoclonal antibody, which is supposed to latch on to the West Nile virus in order for the body's immune system to recognize and eliminate it. Researchers hope the treatment will reduce the severity and also shorten the length of the disease.

"This new drug therapy has the potential of neutralizing the virus and could possibly reduce or prevent complications associated with the West Nile neuroinvasive disease," Bartt said. "This could represent a significant advancement for patients with West Nile."

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