by Associated Press
Published: Thu, February 26, 2009 - 3:16 pm CST
WASHINGTON (AP) - Two old weapons could add up to one potent newweapon against tuberculosis.
Scientists may have found a way to fight drug-resistant TB by
using two old, safe antibiotics.
Studies in patients could begin later this year.
TB is one of the world's oldest killers. The lung disease still
claims the lives of more than 1.5 million people around the world
every year.
The bacteria that cause the disease are becoming resistant to
many treatments. And there's one form of the disease that's
virtually untreatable by existing options.
So, researchers are taking a fresh look at some old drugs.
There are types of antibiotics that can block an enzyme found in
TB bacteria. The enzyme renders useless the penicillin family of
drugs.
Scientists will be trying to use one of those drugs to knock out
TB's shield, and then using one of the penicillin-style drugs to
attack the bacteria.
Their work is reported in the journal Science.
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