Treatment and developmental therapeutics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections.
Tuberculosis still remains a serious health problem in many regions of the world, especially in developing nations. With the spread of AIDS and the increase in the number of immunocompromised patients, the problem of tuberculosis has been greatly exacerbated because of the susceptibility of such patients to mycobacteria. Currently, chemotherapy using multiple drug regimens with isoniazid, rifampin, streptomycin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol is the recommended treatment for tuberculosis. The presence of drug resistance is still a major concern and new generations of more effective antimycobacterial agents (antibiotics, fluoroquinolone derivatives) are the subject of active investigation. The search for novel strategies to cure tuberculosis led to studies exploring the role of cytokines in host defenses and the application of adoptive immunotherapy. New and improved methodology for in vitro and in vivo screening of antimycobacterial activity has also been reported.
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Solar Building, Room 4C-04, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.