Interferon-beta and/or lambda for use in treating rhinovirus infection in the elderly

Abstract

Use of interferon-beta (IFN-β) and / or IFN-λ for treating rhinovirus (RV) infection in elderly people, particularly elderly people who are, or have been long-term smokers, especially those who have a clinical history of recurrent RV infections, and may have other medical conditions, such as cardiac or circulation problems, and who are liable to suffer severe complications / high mortality from poor innate ability to fight such a viral infection.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 12 / 122,510, filed May 16, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,871,603, and claims priority from U.S. provisional application No. 60 / 938,987 filed May 18, 2007. The contents of these documents are incorporated by reference in their entirety.REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING SUBMITTED VIA EFS-WEB[0002]The entire content of the following electronic submission of the sequence listing via the USPTO EFS-WEB server, as authorized and set forth in MPEP §1730 II.B.2(a)(C), is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. The sequence listing is identified on the electronically filed text file as follows:File NameDate of CreationSize (bytes)255352002901Seqlist.txtFebruary 15, 20112,498 bytesTECHNICAL FIELD[0003]The present invention relates to new use of interferon-beta (IFN-β) and / or IFN-λ in relation to treating rhinovirus (RV) infection in elderly people, particularly elderly people who ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0027]The selected agent for use in accordance with the invention will be formulated in a composition suitable for airway delivery, e.g. by means of an aerosol nebuliser. A suitable composition for airway delivery of IFN-β may, for example, be formulated as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,609 by dissolving lyophilised IFN-β in a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle such as sterile distilled water or sterile physiological saline, optionally with addition of one or more carriers, stabilizers, surfactants or other agents in order to enhance effectiveness of the IFN-β agent. One or more IFN-λs may be similarly formulated for airway delivery. Alternatively, a dry powder formulation may be employed. Formulation / device combinations suitable for delivery to the airways include, but are not limited to, pH neutral formulations delivered by breath actuated devices and metered dose inhalers or other aerosol delivery systems.

Problems solved by technology

This is consistent with decline in innate immunity in the elderly, and with poorer responses to flu vaccinations.

In contrast, use of IFN-β in individuals with RV infection but who are otherwise healthy has been thought to have no true experimental support.

Evidence is now presented indicating however that such innate capacity is compromised in elderly people, especially long-term smokers.

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