Therapies in development for community-acquired pneumonia.
The current use of antimicrobials has become more complex due to the extensive emergence of antibiotic resistance. The single most important approach in resistance control is probably the judicious use of chemotherapeutic agents. New agents that may be of use in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia are currently in development. Antimicrobials can be grouped according to their mechanism of action. These include protein synthesis inhibitors (ketolides, oxazolidinones, streptogramins and glycylcyclines), nucleic acid synthesis inhibitors (fluoroquinolones), peptidoglycan synthesis inhibitors (beta-lactams and glycopeptides) and agents interfering with membrane function (cationic peptides and lipopeptides). Among those agents under development, only the oxazolidinones, the cationic peptides and the lipopeptide antibiotics can be truly regarded as structurally novel inhibitors as the other agents are analogues of existing compounds which have been in clinical use for many years.
Blasi
Francesco
F
Institute of Respiratory Diseases, University of Milan, IRCCS, Ospedale Maggiore, Italy. francesco.blasi@unimi.it
Braga
Piercarlo
P
Cazzola
Mario
M
Cosentini
Roberto
R
Tarsia
Paolo
P
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015195:Drug Design; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D019384:Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000096:biosynthesis; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011500:Protein Synthesis Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D019384:Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitors; D010457:Peptidoglycan; D011500:Protein Synthesis Inhibitors