The bacteria that causes the overproduction of mucus and inflammation of middle ear infections can be cured by Vinpocetine.
The finding of Georgia State University study shows the anti stroke drug restrains the overproduction of mucus in the ear and relieves the bacterial infection found in children. Researchers at Harvard University of California Los Angeles identified children with ear infections averaging two extra outpatient visits, 0.2 emergency visit and 1.6 prescriptions filled, comparable with those with no ear infections.
The study estimated ear infections for outpatient care associating an increased cost of $314 per child per year with $17 in medication cost. Direct cost of health care for children’s ear infection adds $2.88 billion, excluding costs that are correlated to work and school days missed. The figure also includes travelling cost to and from hospitals and clinics.
The drug has been experimented on animals using topical application and the study finds Vinpocetine clearing the bacteria Streptococcus preumoni. Pneumonia creates inflammation and produces excess mucus typical of otitis media, and reduces the hearing loss.
Dr. Jian-Dong Li is the director of the Institute for Biomedical Sciences in Inflammation and Immunity, said,“Our encouraging preliminary data suggest that the repurposed drug Vinpocetine may play a critical role in inhibiting inflammation and enhancing antimicrobial defenses in otitis media.” He reveled that studies can lead to the development of non-antibiotic therapeutic strategies to control immunopathology, reduce excess mucus production, and recover the hearing loss.
Antibiotics treat 24.5 million cases of otitis media, a use that leads to the decreased effectiveness of the drug when they are being used in more suitable cases. However, there is a scarcity of effective non-antibiotic treatments for middle-ear infections.
