Novel use of drug saves children from deadly E. coli bacteria disease
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 - 08:01
in Health & Medicine
A physician and researcher at the Sainte Justine University Hospital Center (Sainte-Justine UHC), a University of Montreal affiliate, saved the life of a child and, by doing so, became the first to find a new use for a drug in the fight against deadly E. coli bacteria. In fact, after a little girl was admitted to the Sainte Justine UHC to treat severe complications, her physician, running out of options, thought about using the drug eculizumab, which is usually prescribed for another disorder with similar symptoms. Her intuition paid off and the little girl survived. The dramatic improvement experienced by the young patient and two others is explained in an article published last summer in the New England Journal of Medicine.