New Strategies Combating Bacterial Infection

Combating bacterial infections calls for a multidisciplinary approach and this is what is on offer here. Written by an experienced international team of researchers from various fields ranging from biotechnology to traditional medicine, the book provides complete and comprehensive coverage of topics relevant to new antibacterial drugs. This ready reference and handbook adopts a novel approach, focusing on combating multi-drug resistance in bacteria by developing antibacterials with new target sites, using new advances in drug discovery as well as natural products. Divided into three sections, the first describes the problem of drug resistance and the need for new drugs, while the second treats recent trends and new classes of drugs, including relevant developments in transcriptomics and proteomics leading to new antimicrobial drug discovery, and a new generation of antibiotics and non-antibiotics. The third section on natural products discusses the antibacterial action of phytocompounds, plant extracts, essential oils and honey as well as the role of probiotics in bacterial infections. Invaluable to students of medicine, pharmaceutical sciences, phytomedicine and microbiology and all those wanting to know about the possibilities and limitations of new antibacterial drugs. Furthermore, its coverage of plants and other natural products makes this relevant to the pharmaceutical and herbal industries.

Humans coexist with millions of harmless microorganisms, but emerging diseases, resistance to antibiotics, and the threat of bioterrorism are forcing scientists to look for new ways to confront the microbes that do pose a danger. This report identifies innovative approaches to the development of antimicrobial drugs and vaccines based on a greater understanding of how the human immune system interacts with both good and bad microbes. The report concludes that the development of a single superdrug to fight all infectious agents is unrealistic.

The resistance topic is timely given current events. The emergence of mysterious new diseases, such as SARS, and the looming threat of bioterrorist attacks remind us of how vulnerable we can be to infectious agents. With advances in medical technologies, we have tamed many former microbial foes, yet with few new antimicrobial agents and vaccines in the pipeline, and rapidly increasing drug resistance among infectious microbes, we teeter on the brink of loosing the upperhand in our ongoing struggle against these foes, old and new. The Resistance Phenomenon in Microbes and Infectious Disease Vectors examines our understanding of the relationships among microbes, disease vectors, and human hosts, and explores possible new strategies for meeting the challenge of resistance.

Antibiotic Materials in Healthcare provides significant information on antibiotic related issues, accurate solutions, and recent investigative information for health-related applications. In addition, the book addresses the design and development of antibiotics with advanced (physical, chemical and biological) properties, an analysis of materials, in vivo and in vitro applications, and their biomedical applications for healthcare. Provides information on all aspects of antibiotic related issues Offers a balanced synthesis of basic and clinical science for each individual case, presenting clinical courses and detailed microbiological information for each infection Describes the prevalence and incidence of global issues and current therapeutic approaches

Drug Discovery Targeting Drug-Resistant Bacteria explores the status and possible future of developments in fighting drug-resistant bacteria. The book covers the majority of microbial diseases and the drugs targeting them. In addition, it discusses the potential targeting strategies and innovative approaches to address drug resistance. It brings together academic and industrial experts working on discovering and developing drugs targeting drug-resistant (DR) bacterial pathogens. New drugs active against drug-resistant pathogens are discussed, along with new strategies being used to discover molecules acting via new modes of action. In addition, alternative therapies such as peptides and phages are included. Pharmaceutical scientists, microbiologists, medical professionals, pathologists, researchers in the field of drug discovery, infectious diseases and microbial drug discovery both in academia and in industrial settings will find this book helpful. Written by scientists with extensive industrial experience in drug discovery Provides a balanced view of the field, including its challenges and future directions Includes a special chapter on the identification and development of drugs against pathogens which exhibit the potential to be used as weapons of war

The discovery of antibiotics in the early 20th century fundamentally transformed human and veterinary medicine. Antibiotics now save millions of lives each year in the United States and around the world. The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, however, represents a serious threat to public health and the economy. If the effectiveness of antibiotics (drugs that kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria) is lost, we will no longer be able to reliably and rapidly treat bacterial infections, including bacterial pneumonias, foodborne illnesses, and healthcare-associated infections. As more strains of bacteria become resistant to an ever-larger number of antibiotics, our drug choices have become increasingly limited and more expensive and, in some cases, nonexistent. In a world with few effective antibiotics, modern medical advances such as surgery, transplants, and chemotherapy may no longer be viable due to the threat of infection. This book examines the national strategy and plan for combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

“Uses [pneumonia] as a vehicle for examining the evolution of therapeutics in America between the ‘Golden Age of Microbiology’ and the ‘Age of Antibiotics.’”—Isis Focusing largely on the treatment of pneumonia in first half of the century with type-specific serotherapy, clinician-historian Scott H. Podolsky provides insight into the rise and clinical evaluation of therapeutic “specifics,” the contested domains of private practice and public health, and—as the treatment of pneumonia made the transition from serotherapy to chemotherapy and antibiotics—the tempo and mode of therapeutic change itself. Type-specific serotherapy, founded on the tenets of applied immunology, justified by controlled clinical trials, and grounded in a novel public ethos, was deemed revolutionary when it emerged to replace supportive therapeutics. With the advent of the even more revolutionary sulfa drugs and antibiotics, pneumonia ceased to be a public health concern and became instead an illness treated in individual patients by individual physicians. Podolsky describes the new therapeutics and the scientists and practitioners who developed and debated them. He finds that, rather than representing a barren era in anticipation of some unknown transformation to come, the first decades of the twentieth-century shaped the use of, and reliance upon, the therapeutic specific throughout the century and beyond. This intriguing study will interest historians of medicine and science, policymakers, and clinicians alike. “Podolsky’s scholarship is awesome, and his grasp of the philosophical and sociologic context of the issues considered make this an important work.” —New England Journal of Medicine “This thoroughly documented, carefully written book is a landmark analysis . . . It should be read by everyone who is involved in research and therapeutic development.” —JAMA