Cancer drug and antidepressants provide clues for treating brain-eating amoeba infections

(University of California - San Diego) Researchers at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego have now identified three new molecular drug targets in Naegleria fowleri and a number of drugs that are able to inhibit the amoeba's growth in a laboratory dish. Several of these drugs are already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for other uses, such as antifungal agents, the breast cancer drug tamoxifen and antidepressant Prozac.
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news