Research shows that the drug previously used to treat schizophrenia is a powerful weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a huge problem all over the world: For example, 25 - 50 per cent of the inhabitants in southern Europe are resistant to staphylococci. In the Scandinavian countries it is less than 5 per cent, but also here the risk of resistance is on the rise.
Scientists Find New Way to Battle Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs
A new study has shown that treating municipal wastewater solids at higher temperatures could be an effective tool in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Advertisement
So any effective anti-inflammatory candidate is important to investigate - even if the candidate is an antipsychotic that was originally developed to alleviate one of the hardest mental illnesses, schizophrenia.
Until now, scientists could only see that thioridazine works effectively and that it can kill staphylococcus bacteria in a flask in the laboratory, but now a new study reveals why and how thioridazine works. The research group, which includes professor Hans Jørn Kolmos, associate professor Birgitte H. Kallipolitis and other participants from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, publishes their findings in the journal PLOS ONE on May 17 2013.
![Strains of Antibiotic-resistant Staph Bacteria Show Seasonal Preference]( "Strains of Antibiotic-resistant Staph Bacteria Show Seasonal Preference")
Strains of antibiotic-resistant, potentially deadly Staphylococcus aureus bacteria show seasonal infection preferences.
The research team tested thioridazine on staphylococcal bacteria and discovered that thioridazine works by weakening the bacterial cell wall.
"When we treat the bacteria with antibiotics alone, nothing happens - the bacteria are not even affected. But when we add both thioridazine and antibiotics, something happens: thioridazine weakens the bacterial cell wall by removing glycine (an amino acid) from the cell wall. In the absence of glycine, the antibiotics can attack the weakened cell wall and kill staphylococcus bacteria", explains Janne Kudsk Klitgaard, visiting scholar at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark.
Thus, it is the interaction between thioridazine and antibiotic that works.
And now that researchers know that thioridazine works by weakening staphylococcal cell wall, they can concentrate on improving this ability.
"Now that we know how thioridazine works, we can develop drugs that target the resistant bacteria. And just as important: We can remove or inactivate the parts of thioridazine, which treats schizophrenia, so we end up with a brand new product that is no longer an antipsychotic, "explains Janne Kudsk Klitgaard.
According to her, we are now a little closer to a safe, non-psychopharmacological drug that can save people from potentially fatal infections that do not respond to antibiotics.
"This will no longer be an antipsychotic, when scientists are finished with this task," she says.
Together with her colleagues Klitgaard tested thioridazine on roundworms in the laboratory and have seen that they were cured of staphylococci in the gut. Next step will be testing on mice and pigs.
Source: Eurekalert
Strains of Antibiotic-resistant Staph Bacteria Show Seasonal Preference
Strains of antibiotic-resistant, potentially deadly Staphylococcus aureus bacteria show seasonal infection preferences.
Advertisement
The research team tested thioridazine on staphylococcal bacteria and discovered that thioridazine works by weakening the bacterial cell wall.
"When we treat the bacteria with antibiotics alone, nothing happens - the bacteria are not even affected. But when we add both thioridazine and antibiotics, something happens: thioridazine weakens the bacterial cell wall by removing glycine (an amino acid) from the cell wall. In the absence of glycine, the antibiotics can attack the weakened cell wall and kill staphylococcus bacteria", explains Janne Kudsk Klitgaard, visiting scholar at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark.
Thus, it is the interaction between thioridazine and antibiotic that works.
And now that researchers know that thioridazine works by weakening staphylococcal cell wall, they can concentrate on improving this ability.
"Now that we know how thioridazine works, we can develop drugs that target the resistant bacteria. And just as important: We can remove or inactivate the parts of thioridazine, which treats schizophrenia, so we end up with a brand new product that is no longer an antipsychotic, "explains Janne Kudsk Klitgaard.
According to her, we are now a little closer to a safe, non-psychopharmacological drug that can save people from potentially fatal infections that do not respond to antibiotics.
"This will no longer be an antipsychotic, when scientists are finished with this task," she says.
Together with her colleagues Klitgaard tested thioridazine on roundworms in the laboratory and have seen that they were cured of staphylococci in the gut. Next step will be testing on mice and pigs.
Source: Eurekalert
Advertisement
Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Readings
Latest Lifestyle and Wellness News
Amid the challenges of caring for newborns and toddlers, a study notes a rising trend of new parents seeking social media's help for managing their children.
Lack of friends and family visits is tied to a 39% increased risk of mortality that can be used to develop effective therapies associated with social isolation.
Compared to wearing sun-protective clothes and avoiding the sun, using sunscreen is the least effective way to prevent sunburn on the skin.
Bacterial diversity in the human gut is benefited by eating fruit and vegetables with microorganisms of probiotic and health-promoting characteristics.
New research challenges the common notion that couples achieve better weight loss results.