An anti-cholesterol drug kills the brain-eating amoeba

Pitavastatin is an anti-cholesterol drug usually prescribed to adults and children. It crosses the blood-brain barrier and shows high efficacy in vitro against several strains of the Naegleria fowleri amoeba. It proves to be as formidable as amphotericin B, eliminating eighty percent of the trophozoites of the European strain in sixteen hours.