Scientists trying to defeat severe acute respiratory syndrome are testing various treatments developed for other viral diseases like AIDS in the hope that existing drugs might help combat the growing epidemic.

Health officials have solicited contributions from private companies already testing drugs for other indications and received hundreds of responses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Finding a successful treatment for SARS is particularly challenging, researchers say, because the virus responsible for the disease appears to be mutating as it spreads, making it a moving target.

One family of treatments that may prove useful is antisense drugs, which adjust themselves to various mutations in the body. AVI BioPharma has sent some of its antisense drugs for testing at the National Institutes of Health, and the results should be available in the next several weeks.

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