|
|
|
New Anti
TB Drug
A new Anti TB drug has been found. Its PA-824,
Its a member of the nitroimidazopyran family.
It has showen antibacterial effects comparable to
isoniazid, the current front line anti-TB drug, in
cultures of M. tuberculosis and in mice and guinea
pigs. Toxicity of PA-824 was also low at the doses used
in mice. Its a first new drug in the last 30 years. The
most important aspect of this drug is that it can kill
multi-drug resistant strains of TB, which has become a
wide spread problem in the treatment of tuberculosis.
| John Keats died from tuberculosis |
| Three million
people -- including most AIDS patients -- die
from it every
year. A third of the world's population may be
infected with 'latent' Mycobacterium
tuberculosis. And outbreaks
of 'multi-drug resistant', effectively incurable
TB are ever more commonplace. |
|
|
|
|
