A drug used to treat schizophrenia has been shown to prevent and treat severe acute respiratory syndrome, according to Chinese and European experts at a conference in China, the government said Sunday. Cinanserin was found to inhibit the coronavirus that causes the deadly flu-like SARS, which first emerged in the country’s south in late 2002, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The finding was announced by experts attending a meeting of the Sino-European Project on SARS Diagnostics and Antivirals in the coastal city of Hangzhou.The report said cinanserin was among 15 drugs that appeared effective in preventing SARS but that the other 14 had yet to undergo sufficient testing.
