Seaweed plan for antimicrobial therapies
Friday June 9th, 2017
Researchers in the UK hope their studies into alginates – a component in seaweed – could help to tackle multi-drug resistant infections.
A team from Cardiff University’s School of Dentistry have shown how alginates could disrupt the formation of microbial biofilms.
They have used it to develop an inhalation therapy, which is being tested on cystic fibrosis patients, they report.
If trials on the therapy, which helps to clear mucus obstructions in the lungs and potentially slow the progression of the disease, are successful, it could be used in other more common respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The studies are also paving the way towards improved treatment of chronic non-healing skin wounds and fighting organisms that cause conditions such as gum disease.
Professor David Thomas, who is leading the research, said: “Our research allowed us to derive material from the natural world with powerful abilities to modify bacterial behaviour, making them more susceptible to antibiotic treatment, and to improve the properties of mucus in patients with lung disease.
“These findings are being applied to the development of alternative treatment approaches for challenging and hard-to-treat diseases.”
The university researchers began working on the project after receiving a small grant from Norwegian biopharmaceutical company AlgiPharma in 2007 for exploratory microbiology studies. It has since developed into a nine-year collaboration between the university’s Advanced Therapies Group (ATG), AlgiPharma and Cardiff & Vale University Health Board.
Phil Rye, research and development director at AlgiPharma, said: “The collaboration has enabled us to make significant advances in the development of a new drug, which is now in human clinical studies, and has recently been included in the US Cystic Fibrosis Foundation drug development pipeline.”
The project is a winning finalist in this year’s Cardiff University’s 2017 Innovation and Impact Awards.
Tags: Respiratory | UK News
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