"Antibiotic resistance -- the problem intensifies"

Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2005 Jul 29. [www.mendeley.com]

Antibiotic resistance - the problem intensifies
Stewart B. Levy
Center for Adaptation Genetics and Drug Resistance, Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA

Abstract

While previously recognized antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to increase in frequency and numbers globally, new resistance problems have recently emerged which further complicate and impede treatment of critical infectious diseases. Vancomycin resistance among Staphylococcus aureus, extended spectrum beta-lactamases among gram-negative pathogens, and fluoroquinolone resistance among already multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli and Neisseria gonorrheae are adding to the toll of resistance on patients suffering with infectious diseases.

(continue)

In my notes from a teleconference on merits/antimicrobial properties of nano-particle silver, the following comments were made about why antibiotics sometimes aren't effective.

Bacteria can destroy antibiotics by creating targeted enzymes.
Bacteria can modify their structure to hide from antibiotics or eliminate sites for the antibiotics to attach to.
Bacteria can alter their metabolism and protein production when they encounter antibiotics that interfere with normal protein production.
Bacteria can produce sensors that can identify “dangerous” molecules that have entered a bacterium so they can be expelled before they cause damage. (self-protective mechanism).

These protective mechanisms help explain how antibiotic-resistant strains evolve.

Jackie

Thank you, Jackie - The following brief 2010 journal article on a/b resistance shows the horrific depth of the problem. Coupled with the realization that pharmaceutical industry powers controlled the FDA to eliminate the use of un-patentable silver makes one wonder where we're headed:
"Prior to the discovery of penicillin there were over ninety US letters patents of silver compounds for medicinal purposes. ... Dr. Henry Crooke conducted 2,000 tests proving that silver solutions would kill almost all pathogens. Since ionic silver solutions could not be patented, the Food and Drug Administration was moved by the pharmaceutical companies not to approve its use by the American Medical Association.".
=================================

Nurse Educator [journals.lww.com]
November/December 2010 - Volume 35 - Issue 6 - p 247

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Begin Taking Their Toll

An article in Pediatrics1 reports that the incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) per 1,000 admissions to children's hospitals has increased 10-fold between 1999 and 2008, from 2 to 21 cases. Almost 30,000 children were admitted to the 25 children's hospitals studied and treated for MRSA, with 374 of the children reported to have died during hospitalization. The authors caution that MRSA was not the clear cause of death in all cases. However, 18,000 deaths in children and adults in the United States are attributed to MRSA each year. The study was limited to the incidence of admitting cases. The increase in deaths related to MRSA or the increase in severity of the infection were not examined.

(continue): [journals.lww.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2012 02:08PM by Erling.