Source: Good News Network
Researchers have just found a “new breakthrough” to keep bacteria from resisting treatments.
Scientists at The University of Western Australia, in collaboration with researchers in Canada, have developed a new compound that can combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
B-lactam antibiotics, better known as penicillins, are widely used to treat everything from skin infections and throat infections to diseases in humans such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, foodborne diseases, and gonorrhea.
However, the rise of drug-resistant bacteria in the past decade is threatening their effectiveness.Lead author and chemical biologist Associate Professor Keith Stubbs, from UWA’s School of Molecular Sciences said one method bacteria use to resist antibiotics is to produce an enzyme, called AmpC b-lactamase, to destroy the antibiotic.
“Many bacteria produce AmpC b-lactamase only when b-lactam antibiotics are present, and this is controlled by a sensory ‘on switch’ molecule found inside the bacteria,” Associate Professor Stubbs said.
“Previous ways to overcome AmpC b-lactamase was to provide patients with an inhibitor of the AmpCenzyme…
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