Innovation of the first "live medicine"! – Arabic RT

Genetically modified bacteria can be used to treat diseases of the liver and intestines, by detoxification in the intestine.

The researchers tested a pioneering technique by creating a common bacterial strain, which removes excess ammonia in the body, where high concentrations of chemicals can be fatal, especially in liver patients and diseases rare genes.

Bacteria, created by the company "Synologic", co-founded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to reduce severe ammonia levels, which has increased survival rates in mice.

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"The mice treated with oral doses (SYNB1020) experienced a clear reduction in the amount of ammonia in the blood and an increased survival rate," the company said.

A small experiment on healthy people revealed that the bacteria worked as expected and were safe.

"These data show that we can design bacteria capable of performing a specific function and injecting them into humans," said Paul Miller, scientific lead at Synlogic.

The drug, which is taken by mouth, uses "tools and principles of biological biology to formulate a strain of non-pathogenic bacteria (E. coli Nissle), to fill or provide specific functions absent or damaged by the disease", according to the company.

"SYNB1020" is designed to meet the low oxygen environment in the large intestine and convert ammonia to arginine, an amino acid. For safety reasons, microbes are genetically modified, so they can not reproduce.

The company now hopes to start developing the treatment.

Source: Daily Mail