title: [Progress in antimicrobial therapy].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Not so long ago, back in the 1900s, infectious diseases were the leading cause of death world wide. The doubling of our life span in the 20th century was achieved, first of all, by using bioactive natural products, their secondary metabolites or their derivates. These substances have prolonged our life span, reduced the pain and suffering and, at the same time, revolutionized medical science.
  Antibiotics are among the most important classes of bioactive products and as much as 78% of antimicrobial drugs are extracted from nature. This paper follows the history of progress of antimicrobial drugs, which runs parallel to the history of a man's struggle against the diseases.The golden age of progress of antimicrobial drugs went on between the 1940s and 1970s. Thereafter, there is a gradual decrease in the number of newly discovered antimicrobial drugs. During the time period between 2003 and 2007 only four antibiotics were registered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current situation in the field of antimicrobial therapy should send off a global alarm .for the creation of a well coordinated, sound and all-encompassing monitoring of the resistance, consumption of antimicrobials and investment in the new trials.
authors: Klinika za infektivne bolesti, Klinicki centar Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova. sevicsinisa@yahoo.com
authors: Sinisa
authors: S
authors: Sević
authors: Sandra
authors: S
authors: Stefan-Mikić
authors: Jovan
authors: J
authors: Vukadinov
authors: Vesna
authors: V
authors: Turkulov
authors: Radoslava
authors: R
authors: Doder
authors: Dejan
authors: D
authors: Cvjetković
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000266:history*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents