Old Drugs May Cure Resistant TB

Researchers think that using two old drugs might cure tuberculosis that resists most antibiotics. The first drug they used was clavulanate. This is one of the two drugs in the antibiotic Augmentin for children. Clavulanate blocks an enzyme in TB bacteria. This enzyme keeps drugs in the penicillin family from working against TB. The new study was done in a laboratory, not with people. In a lab dish, clavulanate blocked the enzyme. Then the antibiotic meropenem was used to kill the TB bacteria. Meropenem is an injected drug that’s part of the penicillin family. The study was published in the journal Science. The Associated Press wrote about it February 26.