It turns out that, in the Middle East, getting access to prescription medications for serious ailments, in the absence of supervision, can sometimes be as easy as picking up an over-the-counter medicine for a headache or the common cold, or so claims a new review published in Pharmacology Research & Perspectives. Read more
Antibiotics emerged as miracle drugs and “silver bullets” in the early 20th century, revolutionizing medicine and our ability to combat infectious disease while positively impacting health and lifespans on a large scale. This remarkable triumph held steady for many years, and consequently antibiotic research and development diminished as a priority due to the seeming defeat of bacterial infections. However, the selective pressure that came with antibiotic exposure led to the development of bacterial resistance to these compounds, motivating renewed interest in what is now an extremely important public health issue. Mechanisms of resistance are many and ever-evolving, and we know now that it is not a matter of IF bacteria will become resistant to a class of antibiotics, but when. The search for new and potentially exploitable bacterial vulnerabilities, then, becomes a constant enterprise in order for us to keep pace with the bacteria in the antibiotics/resistance arms race. Read more
The ‘antibiotics in your chicken’ story was everywhere in the Indian media (1, 2, 3, 4) today — studies by Delhi-based NGO Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) always manage to generate this level of interest — be it antibiotics in honey, toxic phthalates in toys , polluting car parks or pesticides in cola. These are studies that touch the common man’s life directly and, many a time, help make policy changes by creating the necessary buzz. The peer review process follows the advocacy drive, I am told, “since publishing scientific findings could take time and the issue at hand might need urgent attention.” … Read more
Infectious disease doctors have proposed a speedier, easier approval process for drug companies developing antibiotics against untreatable illnesses. Read more