16.12.2022
A revolution
On December 15th 2022, new recommendations for the treatment of patients with antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis were published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva. "This is a revolution," says Professor Christoph Lange, Medical Director at the Borstel Research Center and member of the WHO advisory panel. "Until now, patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis had to be treated for more than 18 months.
Now the duration of therapy is reduced to just 6 months, exactly the same as for tuberculosis in which the bacteria do not exhibit antibiotic resistance. This quantum leap is made possible by combination therapy with new drugs. "And that could be just the beginning," Lange says. There are currently 17 new tuberculosis drugs in clinical development. As part of the European Commission-funded ERA4TB and UNITE4TB projects, physicians and scientists at the Borstel Research Center are involved in the clinical testing of these drugs. From summer 2023, the first patients will receive new drug combinations as part of these trials in African, Asian, European and South American study centers.
References:
- https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240063129
- https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240065116
- Dheda K, Lange C. A revolution in the management of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. 2022 Nov 26;400(10366):1823-1825. PMID: 36368335
Contact
Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Christoph Lange
DZIF TTU TB (ClinTB)
T +49 4537 / 188-3010 (Sekretariat)
F +49 4537 / 188-6030
clange@fz-borstel.de