The development of drug resistance is a primary factor in the failure of malaria treatment strategies. For example, artemisinin is the drug most commonly used to treat human malaria worldwide, but some malaria parasites have developed resistance to it. Overcoming the development of resistance is therefore a key objective in the search for improved malariaContinueContinue reading “Using the whole plant to treat malaria”
Tag Archives: antibiotic resistance
An old therapy takes new flight
Before penicillin was discovered and became the standard treatment for bacterial infections, physicians sometimes used fly larvae to treat severe, infected and chronic wounds. Maggot debridement therapy (MDT), as it is now called, has recently returned to clinical practice in the wake of increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Lab Anim. (NY) 42, 40 (2013). viewContinueContinue reading “An old therapy takes new flight”
A new weapon against antibiotic-resistant bugs
Drug resistance is a growing public health concern, as new pathogens that are unaffected by current antibiotic treatments continue to emerge. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is one potentially lethal example. The resulting search for new types of antimicrobial peptides has led scientists back to nature, as many plants and animals produce peptides with intrinsic antibacterial, antiviralContinueContinue reading “A new weapon against antibiotic-resistant bugs”
Tetracycline reduces sperm viability
Despite widespread bacterial resistance, the broad-spectrum antibiotic tetracycline is still commonly used in animal feed and as antimicrobial therapy in the developing world. Tetracycline inhibits mitochondrial translation, and because mitochondria are essential to the processes of spermatogenesis and sperm motility, male reproductive traits may be especially sensitive to its effects. Jeanne A. Zeh and colleaguesContinueContinue reading “Tetracycline reduces sperm viability”
Disrupting bacterial binding to treat infections
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) present a substantial health problem for women, particularly when infections are chronic, recurrent or recalcitrant because of pathogenic mechanisms or antibiotic resistance. In the US, about 15 million women suffer from UTIs each year; 20–40% of women experience recurring infections. Healthcare costs associated with UTIs exceed $2.5 billion per year inContinueContinue reading “Disrupting bacterial binding to treat infections”
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