PubMed Health⌕ Search
Home/Archive/PubMed

PubMed · 14603976

Tuberculosis and general practitioners.

S N Tripathy
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

In spite of advancement of knowledge in diagnosis and management, tuberculosis is still the biggest health problem. There are more than 400 million people infected with tuberculous bacillus and more than 14 million cases are suffering from the disease. Prevention, control and care of tuberculosis are possible. General practitioners play a major role in combating the disease. Quick and right diagnosis and treating the cases effectively should be the motto. Sputum microscopy is the backbone of diagnosis of tuberculosis. With the availability of modern chemotherapy the outcome of a tuberculosis case has undergone dramatic changes. Short-course chemotherapy is the standard choice while tackling cases of tuberculosis. Results of directly observed treatment (DOT) strategy are very good provided execution is proper. HIV/AIDS, another dreaded disease if becomes co-infected along with tuberculosis, mortality and morbidity become very high. The general practitioners are the major strength of healthcare system in any society. They should be good enough to know all about the control programmes well implemented in the country.

Explore related subjects

Antitubercular AgentsFamily PracticeHumansTuberculosisJournal Article

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

S N Tripathy. 2003. Tuberculosis and general practitioners.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14603976/

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

PubMed2007

Mechanism of thioamide drug action against tuberculosis and leprosy.

Thioamide drugs, ethionamide (ETH) and prothionamide (PTH), are clinically effective in the treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. leprae, and M. avium complex infections. Although generally considered second-line drugs for tuberculosis, their use has increased considerably as the number of multidrug resistant and extensively drug resistant tuberculosis cases continues to rise. Despite the widespread use of thioamide drugs to treat tuberculosis and leprosy, their precise mechanisms of action remain unknown. Using a cell-based activation method, we now have definitive evidence that both thioamides form covalent adducts with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and that these adducts are tight-binding inhibitors of M. tuberculosis and M. leprae InhA. The crystal structures of the inhibited M. leprae and M. tuberculosis InhA complexes provide the molecular details of target-drug interactions. The purified ETH-NAD and PTH-NAD adducts both showed nanomolar Kis against M. tuberculosis and M. leprae InhA. Knowledge of the precise structures and mechanisms of action of these drugs provides insights into designing new drugs that can overcome drug resistance.

Antitubercular Agents↗
PubMed2007

EthA, a common activator of thiocarbamide-containing drugs acting on different mycobacterial targets.

Many of the current antimycobacterial agents require some form of cellular activation unmasking reactive groups, which in turn will bind to their specific targets. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of activation of current antimycobacterials not only helps to decipher mechanisms of drug resistance but may also facilitate the development of alternative activation strategies or of analogues that do not require such processes. Herein, through the use of genetically defined strains of Mycobacterium bovis BCG we provide evidence that EthA, previously shown to activate ethionamide, also converts isoxyl (ISO) and thiacetazone (TAC) into reactive species. These results were further supported by the development of an in vitro assay using purified recombinant EthA, which allowed direct assessment of the metabolism of ISO. Interestingly, biochemical analysis of [(14)C]acetate-labeled cultures suggested that all of these EthA-activated drugs inhibit mycolic acid biosynthesis via different mechanisms through binding to specific targets. This report is also the first description of the molecular mechanism of action of TAC, a thiosemicarbazone antimicrobial agent that is still used in the treatment of tuberculosis as a second-line drug in many developing countries. Altogether, the results suggest that EthA is a common activator of thiocarbamide-containing drugs. The broad specificity of EthA can now be used to improve the activation process of these drugs, which may help overcome the toxicity problems associated with clinical thiocarbamide use.

Antitubercular Agents↗