Thioridazine cures extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) and the need for global trials is now!
Thioridazine (TDZ) has been shown to have in vitro activity against multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, to promote the killing of intracellular MDR and XDR strains and to cure the mouse of antibiotic-susceptible and -resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) infections. Recently, TDZ was used to cure 10 of 12 XDR-TB patients in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the time of writing, it is being used for the therapy of non-antibiotic-responsive terminal XDR-TB patients in Mumbai, India, on the basis of compassionate therapy and although it is too early to determine a cure, the patients have improved appetite, weight gain, are afebrile and free of night sweats, and their radiological picture shows great improvement. Because XDR-TB is essentially a terminal disease in many areas of the world and no new effective agents have yet to yield successful clinical trials, global clinical trials for the therapy of XDR-TB are urgently required.
Amaral
Leonard
L
Unit of Mycobacteriology/UPMM, Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal. lamaral@ihmt.unl.pt
Boeree
Martin J
MJ
Gillespie
Stephen H
SH
Udwadia
Zarir F
ZF
van Soolingen
Dick
D
D000818:Animals; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001118:Argentina; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D054908:Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D051379:Mice; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D013881:Thioridazine / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D013881:Thioridazine