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Officials Tackle Multidrug-Resistant TB in Europe
Posted 15 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Sept. 15 – As Europe struggles to combat increasing rates of drug-resistant tuberculosis, health officials say the disease is less of a threat in North America – at least so far. But, they add, the ease of travel that's a hallmark of the modern world means no one should think they're beyond risk. "Drug-resistant TB exists all over the world," said Dr. Mel Spigelman, president and CEO of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, a nonprofit group working to combat the infectious respiratory disease. In the United States, most tuberculosis cases come from immigrants or visitors from other countries, Spigelman said, adding, "This highlights that we are in a mobile world and drug-resistant TB is spreading." On Tuesday, the World Health Organization unveiled a plan to combat the disease in Europe, which is home to nine countries with the world's highest rates of new ... Read more
Related support groups: Tuberculosis, Tuberculosis -- Resistant
New Weapons in Fight Against TB?
Posted 3 Jul 2009 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, July 3 – Extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis might someday meet its match in two drugs now used to treat Parkinson's disease, suggests a new study. Researchers, led by a team from the University of California, San Diego, report in the July 3 issue of PLoS Computational Biology that commercially available entacapone and tolcapone have the potential to treat the difficult-to-kill strain of TB. The discovery was made after a computational analysis that found the chemical structure of the two Parkinson's drugs might work to thwart the TB enzyme InhA, which previous research had determined to be a prime target in treating the disease. A subsequent lab experiment found that the active ingredient in the two drugs inhibited the M. tuberculosis bacterium without being deadly to its host cells. "We have computational and experimental data to support this [drug] repositioning," principle ... Read more
Related support groups: Comtan, Tuberculosis -- Resistant, Tasmar
Antibiotic Combo Fights Resistant TB
Posted 26 Feb 2009 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Feb. 26 – Combination treatment with two FDA-approved drugs shows promise in treating extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), a U.S. study shows. In laboratory tests, researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases found that a combination of the drugs clavulanate and meropenem inhibited the growth of 13 XDR-TB strains. The combination treatment was also effective against normal TB. Both drugs are approved in the United States for treating other bacterial infections in adults and children. The study was published in the Feb. 27 issue of Science. Current therapy for normal TB requires four antibiotics that must be taken for at least six months. XDR-TB is resistant to at least four of the drugs used to treat TB. The cure rate for patients with XDR-TB is 12 percent to 60 percent. "If proven in human ... Read more
Related support groups: Tuberculosis -- Resistant