 |
|
McMaster researchers discover a new antibacterial lead
September 28, 2009Antibiotic resistance has been a significant problem for hospitals and health-care facilities for more than a decade. But despite the need for new treatment options, there have been only two new classes of antibiotics developed in the last 40 years.
Now a promising discovery by McMaster University researchers has revealed an ideal starting point to develop new interventions for resistant infections.
The findings were published September 27 in the science research journal Nature Chemical Biology.
"Everyone reads the headlines about drug-resistant bugs, it's a big problem," said Brown, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Antimicrobial Research. "Really what we're trying to do is understand whether or not there are new ways to tackle this problem."
The research team, which included biochemists and chemists from McMaster University, used high-throughput screening to uncover the new class of chemical. The approach allows scientists to look for small molecules that kill bacteria as well as examine the molecular mechanisms and pathways they exploit.
Existing antibiotics destroy bacteria by blocking production of its cell wall, DNA or protein. The new McMaster-discovered compound, MAC13243, is directed at blocking a particular step in the development of the bacteria's cell surface, which until now has not been recognized as a target for antibiotics.
"We're excited about finding a new probe of a relatively uncharted part of bacterial physiology," Brown said. "It's a new way of thinking about the problem. Who knows, could this chemical become a drug? Anything's possible. But at the very least we've advanced the field and created some tools that people can use now to try to better understand this pathway."
McMaster University
Antibiotic Resistance Current Events and Antibiotic Resistance News RSSStudy reveals why certain drug combinations backfire
Combination drug therapy has become a staple for treating many infections. For instance, doctors treat extensively drug resistant forms of tuberculosis with one drug that breaks down the pathogen's protective barriers and opens the door for another to deliver the deathblow.
U.S. and European Experts Applaud Creation of New Transatlantic Task Force on Global Antibiotic Resistance Threat
Experts on both sides of the Atlantic applaud President Barack Obama and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, representing the European Union (EU) Presidency, for establishing a transatlantic task force to address antibiotic resistance, an urgent and growing problem that threatens patient safety and public health worldwide.
Bacteria 'launch a shield' to resist attack
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the Technical University of Denmark along with other collaborators in Denmark and the US found that the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa can 'switch on' production of molecules that kill white blood cells - preventing the bacteria being eliminated by the body's immune system.
Misuse of antibiotics not the only cause of resistance says report
The perception that antibiotic resistance is primarily the undesirable consequence of antibiotic abuse or misuse is a view that is simplistic and inaccurate.
Man-made crises 'outrunning our ability to deal with them,' scientists warn
The world faces a compounding series of crises driven by human activity, which existing governments and institutions are increasingly powerless to cope with, a group of eminent environmental scientists and economists has warned.
Genes key to staph disease severity, drug resistance found hitchhiking together
Scientists studying Staphylococcus bacteria, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), have discovered a potent staph toxin responsible for disease severity.
Resistance to antibiotics: When 1+1 is not 2
The evolution of multiple antibiotic resistances is a global and difficult problem to eradicate.
Ultrasensitive detector promises improved treatment of viral respiratory infections
A Vanderbilt chemist and a biomedical engineer have teamed up to develop a respiratory virus detector that is sensitive enough to detect an infection at an early stage, takes only a few minutes to return a result and is simple enough to be performed in a pediatrician's office.
Antibiotic prescribing should be standardized across Europe to help tackle resistance
Antibiotic prescribing for respiratory illnesses should be standardised across Europe to help reduce inappropriate prescribing and resistance.
Plant Microbe Shares Features with Drug-Resistant Pathogen
An international team of scientists has discovered extensive similarities between a strain of bacteria commonly associated with plants and one increasingly linked to opportunistic infections in hospital patients.
More Antibiotic Resistance Current Events and Antibiotic Resistance News Articles
 |
Revenge Of The Microbes: How Bacterial Resistance Is Undermining The Antibiotic Miracle by Abigail A. Salyers (Author), Dixie D. Whitt (Author) 'What is antibiotic resistance, and why should I be concerned with it?' Media coverage and political and scientific discussions about 'superbugs' that defy our current treatments, genetically-modified foods in our fields and grocery stores, the threat of bioterrorism, and the use of antibiotics in agriculture have increased citizen awareness and fears regarding the issues surrounding antibiotic resistance. "Revenge of the Microbes: How Bacterial Resistance Is Undermining the Antibiotic Miracle" is a single source of answers to this and other questions average people are asking. Written by experts with extensive experience in the field, "Revenge of the Microbes" provides the scientific information readers will need to form opinions and make informed decisions regarding the use of... |
 |
The Antibiotic Paradox: How the Misuse of Antibiotics Destroys Their Curative Powers by Stuart B Levy (Author), M.D., Stuart B. Levy (Author) Revised and updated with a new introduction by the author, the classic book that warns consumers about the overuse of antibiotics. In this totally revised and updated edition of the classic primer on the misuse of antibiotics, Dr. Stuart Levy reveals how our cavalier and naïve attitude about the power of antibiotics can have -and already has had-dire consequences. He explains that we are currently witnessing a massive evolutionary change in bacteria. This build-up of new antibiotic-resistant bacteria in individuals and the environment, mixed with our overzealous use of antibiotic soaps and the unregulated dispensing of antibiotics worldwide, is leading us into a dangerous territory where our "miracle" drugs will no longer help. |
 |
Antibiotic Resistance: Stopping the Superbugs Antibiotics was once seen as super drugs. They rapidly disarmed pneumonia and many other previously fatal bacterial conditions, and had relatively few side effects. But the bacteria weren't ready to surrender yet. Strains emerged that were resistant to the world's most potent medicines and now we're facing a world-wide crisis. In this program we see how the problem developed and what the experts believe we need to do to win the battle. This program is part of the award winning public television series Healthy Body, Healthy Mind. This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply. |
 |
Antibiotics: Actions, Origins, Resistance by Christopher Walsh (Author) Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Text analyzes how small molecules interfere selectively with the processes central to the survival of bacterial cells. Focuses on the relatively few molecules in antibiotics having an impact on human infectious disease. DNLM: Antibiotics--pharmacology. |
 |
Antibiotic Resistance: Stopping the Superbugs Directed By: ITV Also With: ITV (Producer) |
 |
Extending the Cure: Policy Responses to the Growing Threat of Antibiotic Resistance (Rff Press) by Professor Ramanan Laxminarayan (Author), Professor Anup Malani (Author), Professor David Howard (Author), Professor David L. Smith (Author) Our ability to treat common bacterial infections with antibiotics goes back only 65 years. However, the authors of this report make it clear that sustaining a supply of effective and affordable antibiotics cannot be without changes to the incentives facing patients, physicians, hospitals, insurers, and pharmaceutical manufacturers. In fact, increasing resistance to these drugs is already exacting a terrible price. Every day in the United States, approximately 172 men, women, and children die from infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospitals alone. Beyond those deaths, antibiotic resistance is costing billions of dollars through prolonged hospital stays and the need for doctors to resort to ever more costly drugs to use as substitute treatments. Extending the... |
 |
Enzyme-Mediated Resistance to Antibiotics: Mechanisms, Dissemination, and Prospects for Inhibition by Robert A. Bonomo (Editor), Marcelo E. Tolmasky (Editor) This book presents a state-of-the-art review of the mechanisms of resistance. The enzymes and enzyme systems detailed in this work include those involved in genetic reorganization, antibiotic modification and activation, antibiotic target modification, and antibiotic transport. |
|
Resistance vs. Tolerance: Persistence as a Mechanism of Antibiotic Resistance CD-ROM Starring: Kim Lewis Directed By: Ryan Jordan | |
 |
Antibiotic Policies: Fighting Resistance by Ian M. Gould (Author), Ian M. Gould (Editor), Jos W.M. van der Meer (Editor) Antibiotic resistance has reached epidemic proportions in most hospitals and many communities around the world. While control methods have traditionally (and usually unsuccessfully) relied on preventing cross infection it is increasingly obvious that new solutions are needed. There is growing evidence that the solution will lie in more careful use of antibiotics in the future. The golden age of antibiotic therapy has gone, probably for good and prescribers (and society at large) will have to accept that, in future, antibiotics will not be the "cure all" we have been accustomed to. This book addresses many of the key issues taxing our society and hospitals in an era of epidemic resistance and shortage of new antibiotics. Written by internationally renowned experts in the field, this... |
 |
Current Trends in Antibiotic Resistance in Infectious Diseases by Asad U. Khan (Author), Asad U. Khan (Editor) This book contains ten chapters which cover current trends on antibiotic resistance in different parts of the world. Some of the chapters are dedicated to specific type of bacteria like marine and cholera associated microorganisms. Whereas rest of the chapters are mainly focused on the mechanism of drug resistance with special reference to beta lactamases. Since most of the antibiotics used to treat infections belong to -lactam group which is lactam ring (?-lactam) or penam is a lactam with a heteroatomic ring structure, consisting of three carbon atoms and one nitrogen atom. A lactam is a cyclic amide. The main focus of this book is to understand the different molecular markers responsible for developing resistance against this group of antibiotics. CTX-M family... |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |