Dutch researchers discover a new type of antibiotic

And the possibility that bacteria become resistant is extremely small.

Good news for millions of people who have to deal with a middle ear infection or COPD. Researchers at Radboudumc and Radboud University have discovered that the bacteria responsible for these diseases can be treated with a new type of antibiotic. The big advantage is that the bacteria can not develop drug resistance

Bacteria
This is the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae a bacterium affecting otitis media in 65,000 to 300 million people. caused. The bacterium is also present in patients with COPD, a disease that affects about 3 million people worldwide each year. To make your host sick, the bacteria needs sialic acid, a sugar that we have in our body. The bacterium removes these sugars and builds them in its cell wall. As a result, the bacteria pulls an invisibility cloak on them. Our immune system can no longer detect it and the bacteria can take its course

Antibiotic
Researchers are wondering if it is possible to inhibit the insertion of sialic acid in the bacterial wall. This was tested in individual cells and the result was extremely positive. The bacterium absorbs sialic acids via a transporter. New antibiotics enter the bacterial cell via the same transporter. This is also the reason why the bacteria can not develop drug resistance. Then the bacteria should turn off its carrier. "If it does, it's good." By turning off the carrier, he can no longer absorb sialic acid and makes anyone sick, "says researcher Jeroen Langereis.

Side Effects
The newly discovered antibiotic specifically acts against the Haemophilus influenzae bacterium. It is therefore important that a doctor be sure that it is the cause of the inflammation. But the new drug has a lot of potential. "Normally, an antibiotic kills a lot of bacteria in your body.With the long-term use, the composition of bacteria in your body changes, so people often have side effects," says Langereis.The new drug n & # 39, probably has no side effects.

"A next step is to test the drug in mice. If it works as well as in a petri dish, we will continue to man. Hopefully we can prescribe that to patients in about five to ten years, "says Langereis.