Overuse of antibiotics leads to the fact that they are becoming less and less effective when we are more — and scientists are hastily looking for a way to fix it. In front of you contains the best ideas of how to curb one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century.
The world is nearing the time when antibiotics will no longer cure the infection. We are seriously abusing the antibiotics that we have, and all this leads to the fact that bacteria evolve and develop resistance to the drugs meant to kill them.
This phenomenon is called antibiotic resistance, or antibiotic resistance, and is one of the biggest problems that we face in the 21st century.
The stakes are high. But all is not lost. Various governments, organizations, innovators and scientists around the world are thinking about how to get us out of this mess. Here are just a few of the many methods used in the fight against antibiotic resistance, experts selected by the BBC.
To use the bacteria against them
Why not fight fire with fire, if the meds expire?
Several new biotech companies hope to use our growing understanding of the human microbiome: healthy microbes living in the human body, which support our immune system, prevent the spread of infection and control metabolism. This will help in the development of a new class of drugs to fight superbugs, which are resistant to antibiotics and are believed to kill more people by 2050 than cancer.
Vedanta Biosciences, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the firms that are developing drugs for a new wave of thoughts that many bacteria can cause infection, because the patient develops a lack of self-microbiome due to excessive use of antibiotics. Vedanta studies the study of the microbiome around the world in search of good bacteria that can be put into a pill. Swallowing it, the patient could improve your health and stimulate the immune response.
“Microbiological treatment methods, such as bacterial consortia represent a necessary alternative to antibiotics. It is important to seek new therapies infection, which is both less prone to resistance and does not cause damage to the microbiota and, thus, make the host less susceptible to re-infection,” says Bernat Olle, head of the Vedanta.
However, it is important to note that scientists still don’t understand the human microbiome fully. But research is gaining momentum, and Vedanta are approaching the stage of clinical trials at least for two of its drugs. If possible, process fight infections will change forever.
Use tiny semiconductors
This idea was offered by scientists from the University of Colorado at boulder that is working to develop quantum dots for use in solar energy. What is quantum dots? Small crystals of semiconductors — which are used to build phones and computers. (Small is an understatement. Says Prashant Nagpal, working on the project, “quantum dot compared to the thickness of a human hair — as a city block compared to the Earth”).
Together with a colleague, Anushri, Chattrji working on the development of new treatments to replace antibiotics, Nagpal explores the possibility of using light-sensitive spots to combat superbugs. The result is a new form of quantum dots, which can selectively attack the bacteria.
“What does that mean? These quantum dots can be everywhere, and with proper design and appropriate treatment method can be activated by light to treat infections in animals or humans without killing the native cells of the mammal,” says Nagpal. When activated, points produce enough of the substance to kill bacterial cells but leave unharmed own the host cells.
At test points in the cell cultures, the points do not affect healthy human cells. And light requires no more than a from room lamp or the sun. For a deeper intrusion aimed’ll need led. In theory all of this can be so efficient that will require only a millionth of traditional medicines to achieve the expected result.
Quantum dots easy to produce, so scaling them to treat infections on a global scale will make them cheaper a few rubles per dose or less.
“A small number of drugs and light can heal the worst diseases caused by superbugs, which we have experienced in medical conditions in Colorado,” says Nagpal. “Of course, more research is needed before we can use quantum dots to patients. However, the first tests show a lot of promising possibilities.”
Kills the infection polymers
Antibiotics may not be the only way to fight superbugs. Scientists from the University of Melbourne have discovered a completely unconventional method of killing deadly bacteria.
It turned out that the star-shaped polymer (chain of molecules), they created 15 years ago to add a viscosity automotive paints and motor oil, has some interesting abilities when he was reassigned for biological use. After learning about the ability of the polymer to deliver drugs to treat cancer, scientists realized that the version of a star called Snapp (“structural nanoinzheneriya antimicrobial peptide polymer”) was toxic to bacteria.
Among the other methods of destruction of bacteria, the polymer was able to break the cell wall and are absorbed into the cell membrane and pulling it off the lipid layer.
If scientists get the funding they think will be able to test this treatment on humans within five years. “Our synthesis of the star is a technical process, and it is easy to scale. And it is not very expensive. The most difficult will probably be with the approval of the regulatory authorities”, they say.
The departure from traditional principles of
One of the biggest problems in medicine and science in General is that scientists do not always work with physicians to solve health problems. And therefore missing important information that can be learned from working directly with patients.
In the Centre of antibiotic resistance at Emory University in Georgia, doctors and scientists work together to better understand how to diagnose and treat resistance. “I’m not a doctor. I just want to know from doctors that they see on the front lines to make their research as relevant as possible,” says David Weiss, Director of the center.
Among the successes of this partnership is the development of a new diagnostic test that will help doctors to know which bacteria in the patient are particularly resistant and do not respond to antibiotics. Building on the success of this model, says Weiss, other medical institutions begin to open their own centers, which will allow scientists and doctors to work together.
From the Academy to the industry
The world desperately needs new antibiotics, but pharmaceutical companies have not developed new for 30 years. Because developing new medicines is extremely expensive and special profits end product brings.
To solve this problem, the Pew Charitable Trusts, a public non-profit company from Philadelphia, has developed a common platform for the study of antibiotic – Spark. This cloud-based virtual library with data on a research topic of antibiotics and Analytics, which scientists can use to collaborate on new research. “This separation of data has proven extremely successful in other areas, for example, in the treatment of cancer, tropical infections and tuberculosis,” says Katie Talkington, program Director of antibiotic resistance in the Pew Charitable Trusts. “We hope that the Spark will do the same for of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. We expect that the platform will be open to the General public and it will address scientists from all over the world”.
It is hoped that scientists will work cross-disciplinary, to develop a new methodology for the discovery of antibiotics, and the joint work of the academies and the industry put an end to the lull in the development of antibiotics.
Is it possible to make existing antibiotics more?
Vancomycin, the famous antibiotic used to treat infections for at least 60 years. He is considered the “latest” drug, which is used only when no other options because so far he managed to avoid the problems with antibiotic resistance. Still.
Was recently discovered bacteria that are resistant to this drug. In response, scientists began to attempt to rebuild the antibiotic to make it more powerful and more efficient. They do this by changing its structure. For many years scientists were able to create three versions of the drug. Last two created by Dale Bolger and his team at the SCRIPPS research Institute in La JOLLA, California, added antibiotics mechanisms to combat bacteria.
“Every decision has improved the capacity and insight of the drug,” says Bolger. Resistance to this strain, he says, will grow much, much slower. Only one first modification “safe and will be able to stay in the hospital for 50 years. If the bacteria will find a way around it, it will be killed by two other mechanisms.” Currently, work is underway that will make a new version of a product less complicated.
Whether more powerful drugs, destroying bacteria, polymers, semiconductors ridiculously small or something completely new — all of this suggests that scientists working on great ideas, trying to solve the greatest threat to human health in the modern era.
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