An international research team is bringing out the heavy artillery to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In one study, physicians administered a cancer drug (mitoxantran) to mice at the same time as an antibiotic against a resistant bacterium – with success. The combination makes it possible to target the bacterium and the human immune system at the same time and thus avoid resistance, wrote study leader Kimberly Kline from the University of Geneva in a press release.
“In view of the increase in problem cases, innovative approaches are urgently needed,” says Kline. Antibiotics are designed to kill bacteria, which can then develop resistance to defend themselves.”
In the study, the researchers targeted the common bacterium Enterococcus faecalis. There are no longer any effective drugs against the most common strains of this bacterium – known as vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). In hospitals, this bacterium causes urinary tract, bloodstream and wound infections associated with catheters or surgical procedures.
