The scientists said that AstraZeneca's broad spectrum antibioticdefine MERREM I.V which is also known as meropenem, when used together with GlaxoSmithKlines’ Clavulanate in combination with amoxicillin under the brand name Augmentin, has shown an ability to kill the most deadly, drug-resistant strains of TB.
Meropenem is from a class of medicines called beta-lactam antibiotics, which includes penicillin.
Both MERREM I.V. and Augmentin are antibiotics while clavulanate inhibits a bacterial enzyme that typically protects TB bacteria from meropenem, the researchers said.
The current study, which was led by researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York is published in the Feb. 27 issue of Science.
The drugs are yet to be tested in humans. The clinical trials may take place later this year.
Senior author of the study, John S. Blanchard, a professor of biochemistry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, said in a college news release, "If proven in human subjects, the ability to simplify treatment to just two drugs that work against drug-susceptible [TB], multi-drug-resistant [TB] and XDR-TB could help patients better adhere to therapy."
The best part is that all the drugs used in the current study are very much safe and are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
William Jacobs, a professor of microbiology and immunology
define at Einstein, said, "This discovery could be one of the most promising developments in TB research since the discovery of isoniazid -- it is very exciting."
TB is one of the world's oldest killers. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 9 million people throughout the world are infected with tuberculosis and about 1.5 million of them die every year.
XDR-TB is linked to high death rates as sufferers have few treatment options. The disease accounts for at least 7 percent of cases of the infection globally.
Almost one in three individuals in the world are infected with dormant TB bacteria and only when the bacteria become active people become ill. TB generally is found in people with weak immune systems, such as HIVdefine infected people, old aged or those with certain medication.
It is an airborne illness, which usually infects the lungs but the infection may also appear in the central nervous, lymphatic, circulatory, genitourinary, and gastrointestinal systems, as well as bones, joints, and the skin. The infection causes weight loss, coughing, chest pain, night sweats, fever and fatigue.
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