'Last resort' antibiotic pops bacteria like balloons.

[2greys]

The findings, from Imperial College London and the University of Texas, may also reveal a potential way to make the antibiotic more powerful.

The antibiotic Colistin has become a last resort treatment for infections caused by some of the world's nastiest superbugs. However, despite being discovered over 70 years ago, the process by which this antibiotic kills bacteria has, until now, been something of a mystery.

Now, researchers have revealed that Colistin punches holes in bacteria, causing them to pop like balloons. The work, funded by the Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust, and published in the journal eLife, also identified a way of making the antibiotic ;more effective at killing bacteria.

Colistin was first described in 1947, and is one of the very few antibiotics that is active against many of the most deadly superbugs, including E. coli, which causes potentially lethal infections of the bloodstream, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, which frequently infect the lungs of people receiving mechanical ventilation in intensive care units.

imperial.ac.uk/news/220653/...

eLife. Study Paper:

elifesciences.org/articles/...

[Alberta56]

It's impressive and humbling to know that so many scientists are beavering away to find ways of making our lives better. I like the picture o a popped bacterium.🎈🎈🎈

[RoadRunner44]

As a sufferer of bronchiectasis I was very interested to read this piece of research as I have been nebulizing Coliston for a number of years. It now looks highly likely that thanks to research an answer has possibly been found how to combine an old antibiotic like this one to deal with super bugs. Fantastic news. Thanks 2greys.

[shouty]

I like the idea that I was told about Augmentin ( Co-Amoxiclav ). The Haemophilis Influenza bug I have has a protective coat that Amoxycillin alone can't break through but Co.A can . Was imagine a battering ram being used by mini men in Medieval costumes 😆