News
High dose of old antibiotic offers potent TB treatment
An old antibiotic named Rifapentine has been found to be effective against the most common and contagious form of TB when given in high-doses.
Rifapentine, an approved drug for human use lost its market because when given in low doses it was a weak treatment for TB. In fact its makers stopped commercial production years ago, owing to its low demand.
Now however, studies involving its use on mice have found it to be very promising as an initial treatment for active TB when administered in high doses.
Clinical trials are scheduled to begin next year in at least eight countries
The studies were carried out by Johns Hopkins infectious disease specialist Eric Nuermberger, M.D., an assistant professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who headed the team of researchers from Hopkins and elsewhere.
The studies on mice revealed that giving higher and daily doses of rifapentine in place of another antibiotic, rifampin, cured mice two to three times faster than the much older, standard regimen of drugs including rifampin.
The researchers claimed that the average time to clear the potentially fatal bacterial infection could be reduced from six months to three or less, if tests in people confirm the findings in mice.
He said that phase II clinical trials will possibly begin by mid-2008 to estimate the effectiveness of rifapentine as a key component to daily, anti-TB drug regimens.
The experts said that another 424,000 are infected with the more dangerous, multidrug-resistant form of the disease.