The plague is a disease on the rise in many countries. The journal PLoS ONE reports that a French team might have found a way to counter the disease with an already known drug. Lovastatin is prescribed to reduce levels of bad cholesterol in the blood and also protects animals from lethal effects of the plague.
Lovastatin was the first of six statin compounds introduced on the market. Statins are a class of medicine prescribed to people to regulate their blood cholesterol level.
Studies have already shown that Lovastatin can prevent mortality associated with serious infections. However, no data has been available about how it works against the plague.
Mice were injected with the plague. Those who received this medication had fewer infections or less severe infections than those who did not.
New studies have to be done on the subject. This study showed that Lovastatin has no effect on the bacteria that causes the plague but does prevent the development of septicemia.