
“Antibiotics resistance is an increasing problem, especially on a global scale. And when you have this relatively simple infection which suddenly cannot be treated with antibiotics, the situation can turn serious, sometimes life-threatening,” says researcher behind new study.
ANTIBIOTICS RESISTANCE A new substance has proven useful for treating staphylococcus infections in people with skin lymphoma. This is good news for the patients, but also for the global threat of antibiotics resistance.
Staphylococcus aureus. You may have had it in connection with a wound infection. In most cases, it will pass without treatment, while severe cases may require antibiotics, which kills the bacteria. This is the case for the majority of the population. In fact, many of us – though we feel perfectly fine – carry staphylococci in the nose, a good, moist environment in which the bacteria thrive.
However, more and more staphylococci are becoming resistant to antibiotics (also known as multi resistant staphylococcus aureus or MRSA), and these infections can be difficult to treat.
What is antibiotics resistance?
When antibiotics such as penicillin are incapable of preventing bacteria from spreading, the bacteria are what we call antibiotics resistant. This means that they can spread despite attempts to treat them with antibiotics. Too many antibiotics can make more bacteria resistant, and it is therefore important that antibiotics are used only to treat the most serious infections.
Source: SSI.dk
“Antibiotics resistance is an increasing problem, especially on a global scale. And when you have this relatively simple infection which suddenly cannot be treated with antibiotics, the situation can turn serious, sometimes life-threatening,” says Professor Niels Ødum from the LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center at the University of Copenhagen.
Therefore, all over the world, a lot of resources are being invested in fighting antibiotics resistance in staphylococcus aureus infections, and a new study among skin lymphoma patients has produced positive results. A new substance called endolysins has proven capable of killing both resistant and non-resistant staphylococcus aureus – without the need for antibiotics. But we will get back to that.
The discovery is good news to patients with a weak immune system to whom a staphylococcus aureus infection can be serious and, at worst, fatal. But it also adds to the knowledge we have of other forms of treatment.
“To people who are severely ill with e.g. skin lymphoma, staphylococci can be a huge, sometimes insoluble problem, as many are infected with a type of staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to antibiotics,” says Niels Ødum and adds:
“That is why we are careful not to give antibiotics to everyone, because we do not want to have to deal with more resistant bacteria. Therefore, it is important that we find new ways of treating – and not the least to prevent – these infections.”
New substance may be the answer
In some patients, a staphylococcus aureus will cause the cancer to worsen. And even though antibiotics appear to work in some cases, it is not without its problems.
“We can tell that giving high doses of antibiotics to patients with serious infections causes their health, skin and cancer symptoms to improve. But once we stop giving them antibiotics, the symptoms and staphylococci quickly return. Patients experience many adverse effects, and some risk getting resistant bacteria,” says Niels Ødum.
Therefore, treating staphylococcus aureus can be tricky. At worst, cancer patients may die of an infection which doctors are unable to treat.
We are careful not to give antibiotics to everyone, because we do not want to have to deal with more resistant bacteria
Professor Niels Ødum
And this is where endolysins enter the scene, as this new substance may be part of the solution to antibiotics resistance like MRSA.
“This particular endolysin is a brand new, artificially produced enzyme that has been improved several times and designed as a new drug,” explains Postdoc Emil Pallesen, who is first author of the study. He adds:
“The great thing about this enzyme is that it has been designed to penetrate the wall of staphylococcus aureus. This enables it to target and kill the harmful staphylococcus and leave harmless skin bacteria unharmed.”
And that is what made the researchers decide to test the new substance; they expected it to be able to kill both resistant and non-resistant staphylococcus bacteria.
“We have been testing the substance on skin samples from patients, and it does appear to kill staphylococcus aureus from patients. Endolysins do not care whether the bacterium is resistant to antibiotics or not, because it does not work in the same way as antibiotics,” says Niels Ødum and adds:
“The really good news is that our lab tests have showed that endolysins do not just eradicate staphylococcus aureus; they also inhibit their ability to promote cancer growth.”
Original Article: Resistant bacteria are a global problem. Now researchers may have found the solution
More from: University of Copenhagen | University of Copenhagen Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
The Latest Updates from Bing News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Endolysins
- Combating antimicrobial resistance with a viable alternative to traditional antibiotics
aureus and thereby reduce the severity of flares. Diabetic foot ulcers could also, if proven effective, be treated with endolysins. These ulcers re-occur over time, therefore long-term treatment ...
- Introducing Yesterday's Phage Therapy in Today's Medicine
Phage-encoded proteins such as cell wall-degrading endolysins [69] will be marketed a few years from now in the food industry, the veterinary field and possibly in medicine. They will select ...
- Scientists Find Antibiotic-Free Way to Treat Drug-Resistant Infections
So, in this study, Ødum and his colleagues experimented with the new class of antibacterial agent called endolysins. Endolysins are enzymes that are naturally produced by bacteriophages ...
- Combating antimicrobial resistance with a viable alternative to traditional antibiotics
aureus and thereby reduce the severity of flares. Diabetic foot ulcers could also, if proven effective, be treated with endolysins. These ulcers re-occur over time, therefore long-term treatment ...
- Could enzymes called endolysins ease eczema symptoms and offer an alternative to antibiotics?
Endolysins are enzymes that play an important role in the reproduction process of viruses called phages, which are the natural enemies of bacteria. Phages kill bacteria by latching onto their cell ...
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Staphylococcus aureus
- Aridis (ARDS) Up After FDA Nod for Pneumonia Drug Study Design
Aridis Pharmaceuticals ARDS announced that the FDA has accepted the company’s proposal of a single confirmatory phase III AR-301-003 study of its proprietary monoclonal antibody candidate, AR-301, for ...
- Using magnetic nanoparticles as a rapid test for sepsis
Qun Ren, an Empa researcher, and her team are currently developing a diagnostic procedure that can rapidly detect life-threatening blood poisoning caused by staphylococcus bacteria.
- Organic Cheese recalled because of Staphylococcus and E. coli contamination
Mountain Valley Dairy Ltd. is recalling Kootenay Meadows brand Nostrala Firm Surface-Ripened Organic Cheese because of Staphylococcus aureus and generic ...
- Severe Disseminated Infection With Emerging Lineage of Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus Aureus
2019;25(1):187-189. We report a case of severe disseminated infection in an immunocompetent man caused by an emerging lineage of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus clonal complex 398.
- Researchers reveal drug resistance mechanism of pathogen Staphylococcus aureus
Recently, a research team led by Prof. Sun Baolin from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) revealed the mechanism of transcriptional regulation via S-nitrosylation for vancomycin ...