Dr Ben Shen is a Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Molecular Therapeutics and the Director of the Natural Products Library Initiative at the Scripps Research Institute. Before joining Scripps Florida, Dr Shen was a faculty member in the School of Pharmacy and Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2001–2010) and in the Department of Chemistry, University of Califo...

The proposed switching of oral acyclovir from prescription to over-the-counter (OTC) status for the 5-day episodic treatment of genital herpes was considered by a consensus panel. It was concluded that self-diagnosis/misdiagnosis, misuse, and adverse drug effects were potential problems with the OTC use of acyclovir. While acyclovir reduces asymptomatic shedding of herpes simplex virus type 2, ...

Mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis have become an increasingly important subject as pathogens have become increasingly resistant to current antibiotics. The adhesion of microorganisms to the surface of host tissue is often a first step in pathogenesis and is a plausible target for new antiinfective agents. Examination of bacterial adhesion has been difficult both because it is polyvalent and ...

The concept of using " magic bullets " in the fight against infectious diseases was originally proposed by Paul Ehrlich, one of the founding fathers of immunology and of the basis of anti-infective therapy [1]. These " magic " compounds should have been able to target microbes without harming the infected host. Actually, this concept is the mainstay of antiinfective therapy, as we still know it...

N ovel epidemiological changes and resistance problems have emerged recently, especially among hospital pathogens like staphylococci, enterococci, Pseudomonas spp., and other Gram negative rods. Whereas novel molecules have been and are being developed for treating Gram positive infections, difficult pandrugresistant Gram negative infections are expected to become an increasing therapeutic chal...

Abstract Implant-associated infections remain a challenge in biomedical engineering and prevention of such complications is topical subject. For that, local drug delivery associated with number advantages over systemic antibiosis. In this context, incorporation antibiotic drugs into fibrous nonwovens promising approach for the generation antiinfective implant envelopes or wrappings. Such materi...

This review is an updated and expanded version of two prior reviews that were published in this journal in 1997 and 2003. In the case of all approved agents the time frame has been extended to include the 251/2 years from 01/1981 to 06/2006 for all diseases worldwide and from 1950 (earliest so far identified) to 06/2006 for all approved antitumor drugs worldwide. We have continued to utilize ou...

Clindamycin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic with activity against aerobic, anaerobic, and beta-lactamase-producing pathogens. This antibiotic has been used for many years as prophylactic treatment during dental procedures to prevent endocarditis. However, the spectrum and susceptibility of the bacteria species involved in dental infections indicate that clindamycin would also be an effective tre...