The outbreak of antimicrobial resistance, together with the lack of newly developed antimicrobial drugs, represents an alarming signal for both human and animal healthcare worldwide. Selection of rational dosage regimens for traditional antimicrobial drugs based on pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic principles as well as development of novel antimicrobials targeting new bacterial targets or resist...

The control of microbial infections is a very important issue in modern society. In general there are two ways to stop microbes from infecting humans or deteriorating materials—disinfection and antimicrobial surfaces. The first is usually realized by disinfectants, which are a considerable environmental pollution problem and also support the development of resistant microbial strains. Antimicro...

Infectious diseases form the major health-care burden for the developing world and antimicrobials prove to be the magical drugs to combat this. The discovery of antimicrobial agents was boon for the global health-care system and the wonderful cure by antimicrobials shifted the disease trends from infectious to life-style diseases in the developed world. Sudden appearance of the antimicrobial re...

BACKGROUNDS: Different susceptibility rates of pathogenic bacteria to antimicrobial agents are considered major factors in the choice of drugs and the success of treatments. Concerns have been raised regarding the emergence of antimicrobial resistance among pathogenic bacteria that may result in unpredictable antimicrobial susceptibilities and therapy failure. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this in...

Resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae to antimicrobial drugs is increasing. To investigate the relationship between antimicrobial use and susceptibility of S. pneumoniae isolates at 24 U.S. medical centers, we obtained data on outpatient antimicrobial-drug use for the regions surrounding 23 of these centers. We found an association between decreased penicillin susceptibility and use of beta-la...

The antimicrobial effects of diethanolamine, dimethylamino-methyl-propanol, and butylethanolamine are greatly enhanced at high pH. Their antimicrobial activities are closely correlated with their uncharged forms, indicating that diffusion through cell membrane(s) is rate limiting for the antimicrobial action. Since these compounds are selectively toxic at high pH, they are appropriate antimicro...

In January 2003, leadership of the Medicare National Surgical Infection Prevention Project hosted the Surgical Infection Prevention Guideline Writers Workgroup meeting. The objectives were to review areas of agreement among the published guidelines for surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis, to address inconsistencies, and to discuss issues not currently addressed. The participants included authors...

Monitoring trends in antimicrobial drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a critical public health and global health security activity because the number of antimicrobial drugs available to treat gonorrhea effectively is rapidly diminishing. Current global surveillance methods for antimicrobial drug-resistant N. gonorrhoeae have many limitations, especially in countries with the greatest burde...

Antimicrobial or host defense peptides are innate immune regulators found in all multicellular organisms. Many of them fold into membrane-bound α-helices and function by causing cell wall disruption in microorganisms. Herein we probe the possibility and functional implications of antimicrobial antagonism mediated by complementary coiled-coil interactions between antimicrobial peptides and de no...

Antimicrobial resistance has become one of the most serious public health concerns worldwide. Although circumstances may vary by region or country, it is clear that some Asian countries are epicenters of resistance, having seen rapid increases in the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance of major bacterial pathogens. In these locations, however, the public health infrastructure to combat this ...