New drugs and perspectives for new anti-tuberculosis regimens

Publication date: Available online 24 February 2018 Source:Revista Portuguesa de Pneumologia (English Edition) Author(s): S. Tiberi, M. Muñoz-Torrico, R. Duarte, M. Dalcolmo, L. D’Ambrosio, A. Zumla, G.-B. Migliori Tuberculosis (TB) continues to cause more deaths worldwide than any other infectious disease. Even though global TB incidence has been decreasing for some time, the proportion of drug resistance is increasing, contributing to greater complexity, morbidity, mortality, and cost. Since the advent of rifampicin in the 1960s, and the implementation of the standard quadruple anti-tuberculosis regimen in the late 1970s, no new drugs have changed the first line regimen. This regimen while effective, has a long duration and pill burden, which has received little investment and innovation. Drug-resistant regimens are lengthy and frequently poorly tolerated due to significant toxicity. Fortunately, many significant advances have taken place in this field in recent years with the WHO shorter multidrug-resistant tuberculosis regimen and availability of new drugs like bedaquiline, delamanid and repurposed drugs like clofazimine, carbapenems, and linezolid. These drugs pose unique challenges relating to their rational use to prevent selection of resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis even before a new regimen has been studied. The availability of these new drugs offers hope and new possibilities to patients with limited or no treatment options. Their use and ...
Source: Revista Portuguesa de Pneumologia - Category: Respiratory Medicine Source Type: research