Rare reaction may be result of virus being reactivated
By Linda on Nov 3, 2010 in Infections | comments(0)
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38851878/ns/health?ns=health
Excerpt:
A rare and dangerous reaction to a range of common medicines
including antibiotics and anticonvulsants may be caused by a
severe immune response to reactivated herpes virus, scientists
said on Wednesday.Researchers said their findings suggest that if doctors were to
test for the herpes virus in patients suffering the drug
reaction, they might be able to find ways to treat it and
possibly stop it becoming more severe, or even fatal.The results should also help scientists find out what makes some
people susceptible to the reaction, which is known as Drug
Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms, or DRESS, and
affects around one in 8,000 people who take the common medicines.In a study into DRESS, also sometimes known as Drug-Induced
Hypersensitivity Syndrome (DIHS), French scientists found the
condition is actually an immune reaction prompted when a dormant
virus is reactivated and the body’s fighter T cells go into
overdrive to fight it.
