Using Old Medications to Defeat Tuberculosis

TastesLikeCoughSyrup writes "Antibiotic resistant tuberculosis is spreading like wildfire in the developing world. While many researchers are looking for new drugs to combat the disease, those efforts could take years to bear fruit. Meanwhile, two scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have learned how the drug clavulanate can destroy the defenses of tuberculosis, making it vulnerable to medications in the penicillin family. The best part: it has already been approved by the FDA so doctors can start using it immediately."

Comments

Links to actual papers for more info ...

[xmas2003]

Research page at Blanchard Lab (part of the AE college of medicine) and the ACS paper about their research.

Can't say I understand this stuff, but for those who do, these probably should have been in the story snippet.

Re:Links to actual papers for more info ...

[wizardforce]

their research works on similar principles to the slashdot article although they work by very different pathways. The slashdot article is about a [penicillin degrading enzyme] inhibitor; penicillin inhibits cell wall synthesis which kills gram-positive bacteria. The research page you linked is about developing inhibitors to several amino acid/nutrient pathways that are common in these kind of bacteria but are very different than the pathway(s) penicillin acts on.

beta-lactamase inhibitor

[wizardforce]

It's a beta-lactamase inhibitor, it stops beta-lactamase from cleaving the 4 atom ring of penicillin-like drugs. This ring is very important in the function of Penicillin which actually prevents the building of cell walls in gram-positive bacteria. these bacteria need a thick cell wall to keep from bursting. this drug in of its self does little, only combined with penicillins does it revive the drug's germ killing power.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clavulanate