'This was my last resort,' Ottawa-area woman says of experimental phage therapy to treat infection

Thea Turcotte believes her life was apt saved by an experimental curen developed successful Winnipeg for a chronic artificial associated infection.

"Without this trial, I astir apt would not beryllium present by now," said nan Ottawa-area resident, who is believed by her expert to be the first personification successful Canada to beryllium treated pinch phage therapy for periprosthetic associated infection (PJI).

"It's fixed maine a caller lease connected life. I'm conscionable truthful happy to beryllium here, to beryllium capable to beryllium pinch my family, pinch my children, my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I person a batch to unrecorded for," said Turcotte, 79.

Phages are viruses that target bacteria, invading them and replicating, past bursting retired to hunt for much germs to kill. They do not infect quality aliases animal cells. Researchers judge they make besides antibiotics much effective by reducing nan biofilm that surrounds and protects bacteria.

Phages were discovered much than a period agone by French Canadian scientist Félix d'Hérelle, but penicillin and antibiotics sent phage therapy to nan fringes. 

In Canada, it's still experimental and not disposable for wellness attraction extracurricular objective trials. Last year, researchers at St. Joseph's Health Centre successful Toronto completed nan first Canadian proceedings connected a drug-resistant urinary tract infection. 

Eight years ago, Turcotte was an progressive retiree surviving adjacent Ottawa, riding four-wheelers, stepping and doing yoga.

But then she slipped connected crystal and shattered her hep and pelvis. 

Since then, she's had 15 surgeries, "complete hep replacements connected some sides ... pinch a batch of plates and screws. I'm afloat of metal."

'End of nan line'

Over nan years, Turcotte developed widespread infection. Last fall, she was suffering from early signs of sepsis. Doctors were recommending amputation of her leg, she said. 

Her lawsuit was analyzable because nan infection had go resistant to astir antibiotics, she developed a "severe toxicity" to nan only antibiotic that still worked and has a terrible allergy to 2 of nan awesome supplier classes, said her infectious illness physician, Dr. Marisa Azad, who does investigation astatine nan Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

"There was a pouch of monolithic infection that had opened up complete nan hip. She relapsed. She had early signs of sepsis. She had debased people fever, chills pinch expanding hep pain. So this is simply a very superior situation. I was highly concerned," Azad said.

"I was highly constricted successful what we could do to dainty her. And really, this was nan extremity of nan line.... That's wherever I turned to phage therapy."

Health Canada support for trial

Azad and her investigation squad received uncommon support from Health Canada to dainty Turcotte successful a single-patient trial, which is subject to nan aforesaid regulations arsenic larger objective trials under Canada's Food and Drug Regulations.

In a statement, Health Canada said it "encourages and supports innovative research. Trials pinch a greater number of participants whitethorn support further improvement of drugs, and would let researchers to stitchery much data."

Health Canada has been "extremely supportive. They cognize patients' lives are connected nan line," Azad said.

Azad sent samples of nan Staphylococcus epidermidis germs from Turcotte's infection to Steven Theriault, CEO and main subject officer at Cytophage Technologies Ltd. successful Winnipeg. 

He and his squad utilized that to create a phage specifically for Turcotte.

"What we do is guarantee that our bacteriophage is sidesplitting nan patient's germs astatine a very precocious level, truthful 100 per cent or 98 per cent, making judge that we get free of that bacterial infection … creating a solution for patients that don't person immoderate solutions because of antimicrobial guidance and antibiotic resistance," he said.

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In February, Turcotte received nan first dose of nan phage. It was injected successful her hep and past fixed regularly by IV complete 2 weeks. 

"There are early signs that she is responding very good to therapy, which is breathtaking and very promising," Azad said.

While she's still experiencing immoderate pain, Turcotte is now recuperating pinch family successful Eganville, Ont. She's capable to get astir pinch a walker and said she feels overmuch better. 

"This was my past resort. I had nary different choice. So it was very scary. Also exciting. But I had to do it. It was do aliases die," she said.

"By maine doing this, [I hope] that yet it will beryllium fixed to different patients who request it arsenic severely arsenic what I did, and hopefully making them consciousness overmuch amended and surviving a longer life."

Theriault said that's gratifying to hear, and nan logic he sewage into science.

'A measurement forward'

"It's a measurement guardant for bacteriophages. It's besides a measurement guardant for treating patients pinch debilitating diseases that can't beryllium treated normally. And honestly, erstwhile we get nan authorities to understand really phages are truthful beneficial, we're going to person a caller therapy for patients which is going to beryllium amazing," he said.

With a increasing guidance to accepted antibiotics, immoderate European countries are allowing their usage connected patients. The British authorities is being urged to money much investigation into phage therapy.

While it's still controversial, arsenic scientists person a amended knowing of really phages work, immoderate opportunity location is a civilized and ethical responsibility to investigation phage therapy arsenic an replacement treatment.

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Azad and Theriault will watch Turcotte intimately and submit nan research to Health Canada with nan dream of doing Phase 2 and 3 trials in a larger population. The regulator says if those studies supply grounds of therapeutic value outweighing the risks, they can file for trading authorization successful Canada.

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"At nan extremity of nan day, what matters are patients," Azad said.

"A batch of nan patients that I spot pinch these infections, they person terrible depression. They person suicidal thoughts. They consciousness for illustration there's thing they tin look guardant to successful nan future."

Some patients person amputations, on pinch chronic pain, and find it is "a unspeakable value of life," Azad said. 

"And for maine to beryllium capable to say, 'You cognize what? There's hope. We're looking into this. This tin perchance cure you. This tin perchance little your load of infection. Let's effort this.' And to spot nan dream that they person backmost — that's worthy much than anything."