Interferons were discovered in 1957 by British bacteriologist Alick Isaacs and Swiss microbiologist Jean Lindenmann. Research conducted in the 1970s revealed that these substances could not only prevent viral infection but also suppress the growth of cancers in some laboratory animals. Hopes were raised that interferon might prove to be a wonder drug able to cure a wide variety of diseases, but its serious side effects, which include flulike symptoms of fever and fatigue as well as a decrease in the production of blood cells by the bone marrow, deflated expectations for its use against less serious diseases. Despite these setbacks, in the 1980s alpha interferon came into use, in low doses, to treat hairy-cell leukemia (a rare form of blood cancer) and, in higher doses, to combat Kaposi sarcoma, which frequently appears in AIDS patients. The alpha form also has been approved for treating the viral infections hepatitis B, hepatitis C (non-A, non-B hepatitis), and genital warts (condylomata acuminata). The beta form of interferon is mildly effective in treating the relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis. Gamma interferon is used to treat chronic granulomatous disease, a hereditary condition in which white blood cells fail to kill bacteria.