Moxifloxacin-containing regimen greatly reduces time to culture conversion in murine tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. The expansion of tuberculosis control programs has been limited by the lengthy and cumbersome nature of current chemotherapeutic regimens. A new drug that improves the sterilizing activity of current regimens would reduce the duration of therapy without sacrificing efficacy, thereby enhancing treatment completion rates and preserving precious public health resources. The new 8-methoxyfluoroquinolone moxifloxacin has potent activity against both actively multiplying and nonactively multiplying tubercle bacilli. Using a murine model that is representative of chemotherapy for human tuberculosis, we show that the combination of moxifloxacin, rifampin, and pyrazinamide reduced the time needed to eradicate Mycobacterium tuberculosis from the lungs of infected mice by up to 2 months when compared with the standard regimen of isoniazid, rifampin, and pyrazinamide. The findings suggest that this regimen has the potential to substantially shorten the duration of therapy needed to cure human tuberculosis.
Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Eric L
EL
Nuermberger
Tetsuyuki
T
Yoshimatsu
Sandeep
S
Tyagi
Richard J
RJ
O'Brien
Andrew N
AN
Vernon
Richard E
RE
Chaisson
William R
WR
Bishai
Jacques H
JH
Grosset
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001372:Aza Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001682:Biological Availability; D003470:Culture Media; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D000077266:Moxifloxacin; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D011336:Probability; D011804:Quinolines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D001372:Aza Compounds; D003470:Culture Media; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D011804:Quinolines; D000077266:Moxifloxacin