Re: small colony variants - new review by Proctor - Penny

[Guest guest]

Hmmm, what I am getting from this is that if gentamycin therapy

failed the first time, the patient is in deep doo-doo because now

there are hypometabolic bacteria variants that are resistant to

treatment. But I guess that in the cystic fibrosis patients there was

no such previous exposure. Is this right?

- Kate

> " Osteomyelitis. Several investigators have shown that SCVs can often

> be recovered from cultures of normal S. aureus strains that have been

> exposed to gentamicin or other aminoglycosides24, 47, 59, 62, 63, 65,

> 66, 93, 94, 95. ... Menadione- or haemin-auxotrophic S. aureus SCVs

> were

> recovered only from those patients who had previously been treated

> with gentamicin-containing beads. Large and small colony types were

> recovered from three of these patients, and therapy failed despite

> using antimicrobials with in vitro activity against these isolates.

> By contrast, ten other patients with normal S. aureus (and no

> previous placement of gentamicin-containing beads) had no relapses of

> osteomyelitis within more than 1 year of primary diagnosis after

> active antibiotics were given.

[Guest guest]

This is very interesting, but why do I get the feeling we're screwed?

I'm glad you're out of school, too. Now you can provide us with lots

of juicy research. :-)

penny

" " <usenethod@...> wrote:

>

> The new review is here:

> http://www.nature.com/nrmicro/journal/v4/n4/full/nrmicro1384.html

>

[Guest guest]

> Hmmm, what I am getting from this is that if gentamycin therapy

> failed the first time, the patient is in deep doo-doo because now

> there are hypometabolic bacteria variants that are resistant to

> treatment. But I guess that in the cystic fibrosis patients there

was

> no such previous exposure. Is this right?

I think patients with serious CF get lots of abx treatments... I think

at least some are on non-terminating treatment. Unless it said

something about these particular CFers being abx-naive or newly-dxd my

guess would be they had lots of abx history.

[Guest guest]

<pennyhoule@...> wrote:

>

> This is very interesting, but why do I get the feeling we're screwed?

Ah well, no more screwed than we were before any of us studied SCVs or

any of these other hairy phenomena.

And fortunately alot of good can be done even with existing technology.

On the other hand, its exciting that people like Ying Zhang at Hopkins

have their minds on developing new drugs to bomb out low-metabolic TB

bugs. Theres a fair amount of drug development in this area, and its

possible they could hit an agent that would have broad applicability

for our kind. Unfortunately, however, some of the particular strengths

and weaknesses of Mtb may not correspond well with those of other

species.

[Guest guest]

There's 2 battle fronts- the infectious agents and the one that

makes the huge difference 'the damage to the body'.

I get out there and I can tell that while ill my inflammation has

seen many of my blood vessels really take a pounding- while out

playing soccer you can feel the veins rip away from something the

inflammation stuck them to ...So having infectious agents that work

is only half the picture... I suppose another way to look at this

other picture is to get some feedback on the endometreosis side..

> >

> > This is very interesting, but why do I get the feeling we're

screwed?

>

>

> Ah well, no more screwed than we were before any of us studied

SCVs or

> any of these other hairy phenomena.

>

> And fortunately alot of good can be done even with existing

technology.

> On the other hand, its exciting that people like Ying Zhang at

Hopkins

> have their minds on developing new drugs to bomb out low-metabolic

TB

> bugs. Theres a fair amount of drug development in this area, and

its

> possible they could hit an agent that would have broad

applicability

> for our kind. Unfortunately, however, some of the particular

strengths

> and weaknesses of Mtb may not correspond well with those of other

> species.

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the bright spot. Yes, I'm always encouraged when someone

is researching a way to combat these problems, which are SO

maddening. It's like those old Tom & Jerry cartoons. The mouse pops

up through a hole in the swiss cheese, the cat bops it on the head

thinking he's got it, but then the mouse pops up through another

hole and bops the cat even harder! :-)

penny

> >

> > This is very interesting, but why do I get the feeling we're

screwed?

>

>

> Ah well, no more screwed than we were before any of us studied

SCVs or

> any of these other hairy phenomena.

>

> And fortunately alot of good can be done even with existing

technology.

> On the other hand, its exciting that people like Ying Zhang at

Hopkins

> have their minds on developing new drugs to bomb out low-metabolic

TB

> bugs. Theres a fair amount of drug development in this area, and

its

> possible they could hit an agent that would have broad

applicability

> for our kind. Unfortunately, however, some of the particular

strengths

> and weaknesses of Mtb may not correspond well with those of other

> species.

>