Pharma pulse

 by 

Linu Mohan .P,Asst Professor, Alshifa college of Pharmay

DETECTION OF DRUG RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS - NEW TEST

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis, and rarely by other organisms of the tuberculosis complex. It is most commonly transmitted by inhalation of the infected droplet nuclei which are discharged in the air when a patient with untreated sputum positive TB coughs or sneezes. One third of the global population is estimated to be infected with TB bacillus. It remains a major public health problem in India. About 40% of the population in India is estimated to be infected with TB bacillus.

The bacteria that cause tuberculosis can develop resistance to the antimicrobial drugs used to cure the disease. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is, TB that does not respond to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, the two most powerful anti-TB agents. Drug resistance arises due to improper use of antibiotics in TB patients. Mismanagement of TB treatment and person to person transmission are the reasons for multidrug resistance continues to emerge and spread.

For the detection of the drug resistant TB, the conventional methods used are fluorescent microscopy and culture, which require up to six weeks for culturing and an additional four weeks for drug susceptibility testing. During this time, physicians must wait to determine how to treat the patient's TB, and this delay provides an opportunity for the disease to spread or in some cases during that period, patients may be taking drugs that are suboptimal and suffer unnecessary treatment side effects.

So recently scientists have developed a whole genome sequencing method, with that doctors can confirm the bug is resistant and they can start therapy earlier, using precise antimicrobial agents often leading to better outcomes. The new technique works based on the principle that, the DNA directly from patient sputum samples can be sequenced and analysed straight away, avoiding the need to spend weeks growing them in the lab.This new diagnostic method helps health care professionals to better treat disease, and control transmission of this infection.

IMPLANTED DEVICE REPLACES SPINAL DISC

Spinal discs are soft, compressible discs that separate the interlocking bonesthat make up the spine. The discs act as shock absorbers for the spine, allowing it to flex, bend, and twist.Degenerative disc disease is not really a disease but a term used to describe the normal changes in spinal discs with ageing. Degenerative disc disease can take place throughout the spine, but it most often occurs in the discs in the lower back (lumbar region) and the neck (cervical region).The changes in the discs can result in back or neck pain and in severe case osteoarthritis, the breakdown of the tissue that cushions joints and, herniated disc, an abnormal bulge of a spinal disc.

Artificial disc is an implant that replaces the function of a damaged or diseased spinal disc. The device consists of two metal (cobalt-chromium with a titanium coating) endplates surrounding a plastic (polyethylene) insert. The endplates attach to the patient’s vertebrae, and the plastic insert fits between them. The insert is designed to move during daily activities.

It is indicated for patients who have low back pain due to a problem with one lumbar disc and have gone through at least six months of non-surgical treatment without relief. The implanted device replaces a disc in the lumbar spine. It is intended to relieve pain and allow forward and backward motion at the spinal level.