Within ALJ Grant for Funding Scientific Research in the Arab World Arab Science and Technology Foundation runs a Research Project on An Arab Research Project for Treatment of Bilharzias

3 Feb 2008

One of the currently funded projects is conducted by an Arab research team with the purpose of developing a treatment for bilharzias disease. The research is developing an enzyme to control this disease and treat it in case it is caught. The project aims at using a specific substance to develop and activate this enzyme in order that it will be fully capable of killing the young and grown-up bilharzias worms.

It is worth mentioning that the use of this substance is very useful because it is well-known in many countries of the world. It is used to enhance the growth of infants in addition to other uses in sports medicine.

The research team has been studying the effect of the developed oral medicine on the growth of the worm using infected lab mice. The team conducted the study in different stages of infection in order to target the larva, the young and grown-up worms. The researchers have also been studying the effect of that substance on the enzyme with the aim of developing the enzyme used in treatment. The project started in June 2006 and has resulted in marvelous findings regarding achieving a treatment and a preventive vaccine of this disease.