Emerging Infect Dis: A new breakthrough in combination with Bacillus therapy

February 4, 2021 // -- Tuberculosis is an ancient respiratory disease that has changed in recent years: the resistance of Bacillus tuberculosis to a variety of first- and second-line drugs has increased.
In a recent study, physicians and researchers at the University of Florida's Southeast National Tuberculosis Center and the School of Drug Use used a novel treatment that cured patients with widespread drug resistance in less than half the normal time.
they reported their case study in January's "Emerging Diseases."
(Photo: www.pixabay.com) Tuberculosis is an ancient disease that affects the respiratory system and, like COVID-19, is transmitted by droplets in the air.
, TB is the leading cause of death worldwide, second only to COVID-19 in the number of deaths.
remains a major problem in many parts of the world, and drug-resistant strains are increasing around the world.
As of 2017, at least 20 percent of TB cases worldwide are resistant to at least one first- or second-line drug, and about 10 percent of these multidrring cases are widely resistant to certain second-line defense drugs.
Connie Haley, lead author of the report, said: "Progress in TB has been slow since an effective anti-TB antibiotic was first discovered in the 1940s.
once TB patients are infected with TB strains that are resistant to existing drugs, treatment options are very limited.
"Haley notes, some patients cannot tolerate up to two years of existing treatment.
others lose their hearing due to side effects or develop kidney or liver toxicity.
Haley worked with UF physicians, pharmacists and researchers to cure a treatment recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for patients with extensive drug-resistant tuberculosis with a new drug.
team said they were the first U.S. providers to use the new treatment outside of clinical trials.
nearly 40 patients in the U.S. have received similar care since the case began.
Haley said: "It took a third of the normal time and had fewer side effects, saving her life.
" A clinical trial completed in 2019 found that a six-month oral solution of three drugs (bedaquine, precursor-class drugs, and lynymphetamine (called BPaL) was effective in curing 90 percent of participants with extensive drug-resistant tuberculosis.
these results, the FDA approved the new BPaL program for use in the United States in August 2019.
all three drugs in the BPaL programme have a strong effect on the effective replication of Mycobacteria tuberculosis microorganisms.
Haley and her team obtained FDA permission to use BPaL for their patients.
Haley said: "Prior to this new programme, the diagnosis of widely drug-resistant TB meant that there were no drugs that could be effective or possible for patients.
's a huge breakthrough.
() Source: New tuberis drug regimen slashes treatment times Source: Connie A. Haley et al. Novel 6-Month Treatment for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis, United States, Emerging Infectious Diseases (2020). DOI: 10.3201/eid2701.203766