Tackling tuberculosis: Insights from an international TB Summit in London

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) poses a grave predicament to the world as it is not merely a scientific challenge but a socio-economic burden as well. A prime cause of mortality in human due to an infectious disease; the malady and its cause, Mycobacterium tuberculosis have remained an enigma with many questions that remain unanswered. The ability of the pathogen to survive and switch between varied physiological states necessitates a protracted therapeutic regimen that exerts an excessive strain on low-resource countries. To complicate things further, there has been a significant rise of antimicrobial resistance. Existing control measures, including treatment regimens have remained fairly uniform globally for at least half a century and require reinvention. Overcoming the societal and scientific challenges requires an increase in dialog to identify key regions that need attention and effective partners with whom successful collaborations can be fostered. In this report, we explore the discussions held at the International TB Summit 2015 hosted by EuroSciCon, which served as an excellent platform for researchers to share their recent findings. Ground-breaking results require outreach to affect policy design, governance and control of the disease. Hence, we feel it is important that meetings such as these reach a wider, global audience.

Human Antimicrobial RNases Inhibit Intracellular Bacterial Growth and Induce Autophagy in Mycobacteria-Infected Macrophages

“…Hence, enlargement of novel and effective therapies to battle mycobacteria are urgently required (3, 4). Mtb is an intracellular pathogen able to survive indefinitely under unfavorable conditions inside primary host immune cells, preferably residing in human alveolar macrophages (5, 6). Several studies have recently shown that features such as its high infectivity, slow growth, and complex cell-wall structure, make M. tuberculosis a major challenge to be faced, since the specific mechanisms that reinforce the high virulence of Mtb remain largely unknown (4, 7).…”

Repurposing drugs for treatment of tuberculosis: a role for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

“…1 This has provided the much-needed impetus for the discovery and development of novel, more effective and safer anti-tubercular chemotherapeutics. [2][3][4] However, there is a high attrition rate of lead molecules passing from preclinical development to Phase I clinical studies. 5 This has led to a shortage of novel molecules available for further development and incorporation into successful anti-tubercular therapy.…”

Early diagnosis and effective treatment regimens are the keys to tackle antimicrobial resistance in tuberculosis (TB): A report from Euroscicon's international TB Summit 2016

“…[8][9][10] The 3 day event was well attended with representatives from universities and government agencies from all over the world. The informative oral presentation and poster sessions were categorised for a systematic discussion on the different aspects of TB as is discussed in more detail in the following sections of the report.…”