Light therapy hope for MRSA treatment
Wed April 1st, 2009
Scientists believe they may have found a "magic bullet" for treating the hospital superbug, MRSA.
Linda Dekker of University College London, UK, and colleagues investigated the use of photodynamic therapy - antimicrobial drugs which are activated by light, then damage and kill bacteria.
The type of antimicrobial agent they used was called tin chlorin e6, or SnCe6. When exposed to light of the right wavelength, it produces free radicals and an unstable form of oxygen called singlet oxygen.
Attaching this drug to a peptide that binds to bacteria and stops them making toxins, was "highly effective at killing the superbug MRSA", report the team. They presented the work today (April 1) at the Society for General Microbiology's meeting at Harrogate, UK.
They explain that this treatment kills 99.97 per cent of MRSA cells, while avoiding damage to the body's healthy cells. This technique is 1,000 times more effective at killing MRSA - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - than using commercially available SnCe6 alone.
This treatment may also help prevent bacteria from producing tissue-damaging toxins, and it is very unlikely that bacteria can develop resistance to it.
"The results from laboratory studies are very encouraging and indicate that this technique might be effective at treating topical infections such as wound and burn infections," said Ms Dekker. "Due to the growing resistance of many organisms to antibiotics, this approach may be the only one available for use against microbes resistant to all known antibiotics".
But she added: This work will require in vivo trials before it can be used."
Tags: UK News | MRSA & Hygiene
Printer friendly page