Is Lacking in IFITM3 Gene Leading to Worse Flu for You?

We have all experienced bouts of the flu. The fever, achiness, and other symptoms that leave you wanting to do nothing more than lay in bed all day. Help may be on the way if research being conducted with the IFITM3 gene continues yielding successful results. Research conducted by Abraham Brass from the Ragon Institute and Gastrointestinal Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States, and Paul Kellam of the Sanger Institute in Britain, has shown that low quantities of IFITM3 correlated to worse cases of the flu. In their studies with mice, loss of this one gene turned a mild case of the flu into a fatal infection.

The results of this research could be a turning point in how we fight the flu. I don't know about you, but I would be happy not to deal with another stint of the flu in my lifetime.

Read the entire article here.

-The Harbor Consulting Team