Journal of Drug Metabolism & Toxicology
Open Access
ISSN: 2157-7609
+44-20-4587-4809
ISSN: 2157-7609
+44-20-4587-4809
Gannu Praveen Kumar
Sahasra Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, India
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Drug Metab Toxicol
In the last 60 years, major improvements in the early recognition and the treatment of infectious diseases have resulted in an extraordinary reduction in the morbidity and mortality associated with these illnesses. This has been due, in part, to better understanding of the fine molecular biological mechanisms of these diseases and to improved understanding of their pathophysiology and their epidemiology but, most notably, to the rapid development of safe and effective new antimicrobial treatments that have been able to attack the specific agent causing the infection, thus helping the infected host to eliminate the infection being treated. Seen initially as truly miraculous drugs, access to the first available systemic antibiotics (sulfonamides and penicillin) was not immediately available for the general public. In fact, these drugs were scarce and very expensive and were initially reserved for use by the military during World War II. The discovery of antibiotics revolutionized medicine transforming often fatal diseases into curable, or at least manageable, problems. They were viewed as a panacea. Unfortunately, antibiotic drug resistance has gradually become a major health risk potentially compromising gains made in public health worldwide and is currently considered one of the greatest threats to public health. Although not a new phenomenon, resistance has become a more pressing issue over recent years as approximately 70% of known bacteria have developed resistance to one or more antibiotics, threatening a return to the pre-antibiotic era. Resistance has been reported for entire classes of antibiotics, and untreatable multi-drug resistant bacteria are increasingly documented. The causes of antibiotic resistance are complex and include human behaviour at many levels of society of which the consequences affect everybody in the world. Similarities with climate change are evident. Many efforts have been made to describe the many different facets of antibiotic resistance and the interventions needed to meet the challenge. Although antibiotics paved the way for unprecedented medical and societal developments, today they have become indispensible in all health systems. Achievements in modern medicine, such as major surgery, organ transplantation, treatment of preterm babies, and cancer chemotherapy, which we today take for granted, would not be possible without access to effective treatment for bacterial infections. Within just a few years, we might be faced with dire setbacks, medically, socially, and economically, unless real and unprecedented global coordinated actions are immediately taken. Finding a solution to the problem of antibiotic resistance is an urgent global healthcare priority. Life threatening infections such as MRSA, tuberculosis and E. coli are all developing resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics and very few new are currently under development. Overcoming the ability of bacteria to develop resistance could potentially prevent thousands of needless deaths per year worldwide and reduce the burden on healthcare systems around the globe. Nanoscience is a relatively new field of research, yet our growing ability to build at the molecular level allows for the creation of customised structures which have the potential to transform medicine. It is hoped that new antibiotics, identification of sensitive microbial targets and design of novel drug delivery systems will enable the development of an urgently needed new generation of antibiotic treatments. Here, we describe the global situation of antibiotic resistance, its major causes and consequences, and identify key areas in which action is urgently needed.
Gannu Praveen Kumar is currently working as Professor and Principal in Sahasra Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, India. Since 2009, he was appointed as an external examiner for PhD and post graduate students and has guided 30 MPharm students. He published in both National and International journals and compiled few chapters for text books. He received Gem of India award in the year 1999. He attended international conferences of repute and visited London, Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia and Spain as invited speaker. He was selected as a best academician of Vaagdevi college of Pharmacy in 2002 and of Talla Padmavathi college of Pharmacy in 2011.
Email: ghalo2010@gmail.com