Moles of Molecules against Mycobacterium abscessus: A Review of Current Research

Abstract

Mycobacterium abscessus is an emerging opportunistic pathogen that infects mainly the respiratory tract of individuals with pre-existing clinical pictures. In recent years, the incidence of infections of this microorganism has risen, in particular in patients with cystic fibrosis, leading to an exacerbation of their conditions. The actual therapeutic regimen has low efficacy and is extended for long periods since it is mainly based on a combination of repurposed drugs, generally from treatments of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections. For this reason, it is necessary to develop new drugs or alternative strategies in order to improve the efficacy and shorten the time of treatments. This review aims to give an overview of drugs in the pre-clinical and clinical phases of evaluation against M. abscessus and the molecules that have been in development for the past five years in the early drug-discovery phase.

Phage Therapy: An Alternative Approach to Combat Multi-drug Resistant Infections in Cystic Fibrosis

“…As previously stated, Mab is intrinsically resistance to many antibiotics due to his thick cell wall and efflux pumps [15,17]. The treatments against this opportunistic pathogen are based mostly on repurposed drugs from therapeutic regimens against M. tuberculosis and M. avium [24]. Moreover, currently a standard drug regimen to treat Mab infections is not established, although consensus recommendations have been pubblished by the US Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the European Cystic Fibrosis Society [25].…”