The drug lansoprazole may have a role in preventing tuberculosis, researchers have reported.
Lansoprazole is cheap and often used to treat heartburn, gastritis and ulcers. It was tested for its ability to prevent tuberculosis by Dr Tom Yates of University College London, UK.
Together with colleagues at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK, Dr Yates examined routine GP and hospital figures, comparing the rate of tuberculosis among people taking lansoprazole against people taking other similar drugs, omeprazole or pantoprazole.
They found that there were ten cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 person years among people using lansoprazole. This compared with 15.3 cases among those using omeprazole or pantoprazole.
Dr Yates said: "It would be a major breakthrough to find a new drug with useful activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and a favourable side effect profile – particularly a drug like lansoprazole, which costs pennies.
"Laboratory, animal and now epidemiological data are all consistent with lansoprazole acting against the bacteria that cause tuberculosis.
“While it is too early to say whether lansoprazole can be used to treat tuberculosis, we think there is a strong case for further study."
Details appeared yesterday (21 November) in PLoS Medicine. Dr Ian Douglas of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine added: "We know that medications can have unintended effects; often these are harmful, but occasionally we also find unexpected benefits that may offer new hope for difficult to treat diseases.
"This study highlights how we can investigate possible new uses for medicines using the wealth of information recorded as part of routine healthcare in the UK. The results of this study raise the possibility that lansoprazole, a well-established treatment for stomach complaints, may also be useful for treating tuberculosis."
Yates, T. A. et al. Lansoprazole use and tuberculosis incidence in the United Kingdom Clinical Practice Research Datalink: a population based cohort. PLoS Medicine 21 November 2017
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