New antibiotic kills drug-reistant superbugs

[REWahoo]

This sounds like it has the potential to be a very big deal:

Quote:

Using soil from a grassy field in Maine and a miniaturized diffusion chamber, scientists have cultivated a microbe that could help tame the spread of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. When tricked into growing in a lab, the microbe makes a compound that kills strains of tuberculosis, MRSA and other deadly pathogens that are immune to even the most powerful drugs.

Quote:

Experts said the discovery could lead to a new class of antibiotics for the first time in decades. If so, it would give doctors a much-needed weapon in the microbial arms race that has tilted in favor of bacteria.

New antibiotic teixobactin kills drug-reistant superbugs, study says - LA Times

[M Paquette]

Not to be a spoilsport, but how toxic is it to humans?

I notice it is untested in humans at this point. There are, alas, a universe full of compounds that kill bacteria, but are not exactly safe for us multicellular critters either.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M Paquette Not to be a spoilsport, but...

... I'm going to be one anyway.

Notice I said "has the potential," not that it was a sure thing. No, it hasn't been tested on anything beyond mice to this point.

I see the fact an entirely new class of antibiotics is being developed as big news, especially with all the stories of flesh-eating bacteria and other drug resistant infectious diseases we're always hearing about.

[travelover]

I see amazing potential for new treatments in the future for antibiotic resistant bacteria. The recent development of a treatment for Clostridium difficile using fecal implants, for example, as well as using granulated sugar packs for slow healing wounds. There is a lot we still don't understand ..........about everything.

[Jay_Gatsby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover I see amazing potential for new treatments in the future for antibiotic resistant bacteria. The recent development of a treatment for Clostridium difficile using fecal implants, for example, as well as using granulated sugar packs for slow healing wounds. There is a lot we still don't understand ..........about everything.

"Magic's just science we don't understand yet" - Arthur C. Clarke

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo I see the fact an entirely new class of antibiotics is being developed as big news, especially with all the stories of flesh-eating bacteria and other drug resistant infectious diseases we're always hearing about.

+1

[samclem]

Yep, potentially good news. This is a "war" in which we'll never get a final "victory", but to those saved in the 10-20 years in which the next antibiotic remains effective, it's definitely a victory.

(Totally uninformed idea follows): Maybe we should now entirely ban manufacture and use of the very first antibiotics (?sulfa drugs?). Keep 'em in reserve and hope the rapidly evolving bugs lose their (unneeded) resistance to them as they continue to morph, then bring them out again when needed.

As we strive to cut spending on medical care, I hope financial incentives will remain for drug research. A new antibiotic costs a lot to develop, but on a "$$ per manyear saved" I'm sure it works out to be much cheaper than many other things we spend money on. If there were a way to incentivize the drug companies to use the money paid for those 60 second TV spots for research, I'm sure we'd have a cure for most maladies by now.
Thank heavens we have Lattise. I saw the long TV ad for it and was a bit worried over the 45 seconds describing side effects, but once I understood that medical science had finally found a drug to address the malady of chronically thinning eyelashes, I realized all the research and ad time were worth it.