Rabies pathogenesis update

2010; Volume: 1; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5123/s2176-62232010000100023

ISSN

2176-6223

Autores

Alan C. Jackson,

Tópico(s)

Venomous Animal Envenomation and Studies

Resumo

Human rabies continues to be an important public health problem. Our understanding of the disease has been acquired from studies in experimental animal models. There are many unanswered questions in rabies pathogenesis, although there has been recent progress. Rabies virus-infected neurons may not function normally due to degenerative changes involving neuronal processes, including both dendrites and axons. Street rabies virus infection may not be cleared from the central nervous system because immune effectors cannot be delivered into brain tissues as a result of poor blood-brain barrier permeability. No effective therapy is available for human rabies. Therapeutic (induced) coma has failed repeatedly. An improved understanding of rabies pathogenesis may offer new insights for the development of novel therapies for human rabies.

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