ST. LOUIS MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) -
In a lab at St. Louis University, they are looking into what you might call a "mouth watering" discovery. In a word what they are investigating is spit. But not just any spit. It's tick spit. Researchers at St. Louis University are interested in a unique protein in tick saliva which allows ticks to avoid creating a reaction by a part of the body's immune system called the complement system.
And based on that phenomenon, researchers are trying to see if that same protein could be used to keep the body from attacking itself, as it does in several diseases including Myasthenia Gravis.
Tests on rats with models of Myasthenia Gravis have shown surprising promise.
Although researchers are focused on Myasthenia Gravis, if they are successful it could lead to the creation of an new class of drugs which could be used to treat other diseases involving the complement system including rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer's.
And based on that phenomenon, researchers are trying to see if that same protein could be used to keep the body from attacking itself, as it does in several diseases including Myasthenia Gravis.
Tests on rats with models of Myasthenia Gravis have shown surprising promise.
Although researchers are focused on Myasthenia Gravis, if they are successful it could lead to the creation of an new class of drugs which could be used to treat other diseases involving the complement system including rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer's.
