Our body has a natural defense mechanism that kicks into gear whenever a foreign substance enters it. When the body’s normal defenses is not able to prevent or overcome a disease, antimicrobial drugs can be used to fight off the disease. One of the most important discoveries of modern medicine was antibiotics. Things have changed from where little could be done to treat many lethal infectious diseases to now, where some of these drugs could be called “miracle” drugs.
The concept of chemotherapy, a form of treatment that uses chemical substances to fight off a disease, was first discovered by Paul Ehrlich, a German physician and scientist, during the early part of the 20th century. Ehrlich was attempting to stain bacteria without staining the surrounding tissue, when he speculated about a “magic bullet” that would be able to find and destroy pathogens but not harm the host. In 1928, Alexander Fleming, a Scottish biologist, observed the growth of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, and he saw that the bacteria was inhibited in the area surrounding the colony of a mold that had contaminated a Petri plate. This mold ended up being identified as Penicillium notatum. In 1940, the first clinical trials of penicillin took
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Polymyxin B is effective against gram-negative bacteria. It is available for topical use in the antiseptic ointment that also contains bacitracin and neomycin. Rifampin, is used in tuberculosis therapy. The drugs inhibit the synthesis of mRNA. The first of the quinolone group was nalidixic acid, which inhibits the enzyme DNA gyrase needed for DNA replication. This led to the development of the fluoroquinolone group. Blocking a cell’s ability to synthesize essential metabolites is another mode of drug action. Sulfonamides (sulfa drugs) act by competitive inhibition of folic acid, which is an important coenzyme needed for synthesis of proteins, DNA and
IS THE POSSIBILITY OF POST-ANTIBIOTICS REAL? Imagining the Post-Antibiotics Future is an essay written by Maryn McKenna to emphasize focus on our lack of appreciation for what antibiotics have done for us and will continue to do for us, but only if we let them. She presents a very insightful and eye opening argument. She relies heavily on a very personal story as well as many facts and research to create such a convincing argument. McKenna begins her essay with recalling a time in which she found out about the death of her great-uncle due to a very infection.
PHAR 100 Assignment 3 1. Antibiotics are a form of medicine that seek out and destroy the bacteria that make us feel sick. Antibiotics work great against bacteria, however they don’t work against viruses. Penicillin was the first antibiotic to be discovered by Alexander Fleming, and it was first used to treat infections. Essentially, these powerful medicines fight bacterial infections, and have the potential to save lives.
Florey and his colleagues at Oxford developed the antibiotic use for the penicillium mold however because Britain was under siege, they did not grant any funding or support. This lead to Florey and his colleagues going to the US for help which they gladly offered. The US gladly granted it and Florey and his colleagues began testing and eventually came up with an antibiotic. They began testing in 1942 and a year later, it entered the war. It was a game-changer because it was universal to many infections and later on, became cheap and abundant.
Fleming’s penicillin alone has saved an estimated 200 million lives (New World Encyclopedia Contributors 2013). Not only would antibiotics combat 50 percent of common illness threatening seamen, but also would prevent any potential bacterial infections brought on by environmental ailments like carbon dioxide poisoning, scurvy, and malnutrition. Though antibiotics are not a safeguard against any contractible sickness, they are an explicit defense against bacterial infections, which were the most common form of infection among
Another medication developed was penicillin. “Before the widespread use of antibiotics like penicillin in the United States, even small cuts and scrapes could lead to deadly infections.” (Little, 2021). This is why penicillin was such a good thing. Now soldiers didn’t have to worry as much if they got wounded in battle.
Moreover, Penicillin, a group of antibiotics, was discovered during this time, specifically in the 1928s by Alexander Fleming (ACS, 2023). Although the first dose of penicillin was used in 1941 by Albert Alexander, it was still a life-changing discovery as it changed the lives of many - even after the period of 1918s1939s (Wood, 2010). The discovery of penicillin allowed a lot of life-threatening diseases to be treated, such as bronchitis, tonsillitis, and pneumonia. Penicillin is known to save millions of lives. Indeed, in just World War Two, the death rate because of bacterial pneumonia would go from 18% to 1%, because of the invention of penicillin.
He worked for a long time with causes of pneumonia such as pneumococcus and bacterium. He and other scientists in 1928 were surprised to see the result of an experiment with microbes. They injected mice with a harmless
After he found the cause of infection, Lister began to find ways to prevent infection. He had read about a chemical called carbolic acid that was poured on fertilizer to stop the spread of disease. Unfortunately, carbolic acid was so strong that it could burn skin, so Lister had to mix it with water to prevent it from harming the patient too much. The first time he used carbolic acid was on an eleven-year-old boy who had broken his leg. Lister covered the boy’s leg with a cloth covered in carbolic acid and the wound healed with no infection.
We thought that Penicillium was not inhibited because of structural differences between it and the susceptible fungi, but it is possible that penicillin killed off the bacteria. Unfortunately, the short stay prevented us from confirming our theory, and I left Costa Rica, longing for an extended research
However, the physicians did not reveal the actual purpose of the study. Consequently, penicillin was the most effective medication, but the doctors decided to withhold treatment (Bozeman, Hirsch, & Slade ,
The war also affected the mass production of penicillin. The military had no other way of treating infection quickly or any other wounds so it was vital for penicillin to be abundant. All in all this time was one of the most influential time during technology and all other advancements in the current time. Could imagine life without the things we have today? Bird, Kai, and Martin J. Sherwin. "
“Tuberculosis was another big killer in the 1800s (Humphries/ Bystrianyk 15). By the late 1930’s the death rate had dropped by 92% (Humphries/ Bystrianyk 15). By 1970, the decline had reached over 99% (Humphries/ Bystrianyk 15). During the 1900’s this disease was killing 5 to 16 times more people than typhoid, scarlet fever, whooping cough, measles, or diphtheria (Humphries/ Bystrianyk 15).” Despite the substantial amount of deaths from Tuberculosis many good treatments to not only treat tuberculosis but to help cure many other infections and bacterias appeared.
Well that is what Camilla Lisanti thinks. Camilla Lisanti was at the dinner table one night with her parents, they are scientists and are constantly talking about medicines and other cures for diseases. That night the topic was cancer and a popular topic, and they asked Camilla how she would cure cancer. She responded “ like when I have a sore throat”. She meant regular antibiotics.
Amid Alexander Fleming 's Nobel discourse he said, "After I finished my research, biochemist Dorothy Crawfort Hodkin used x-rays to determine the atomic structure and molecular shape of penicillin. " (Fleming,2)Dr. C.G. Paine, dermatologist Albert Nutt were two famous doctors who used Hodkin’s research to develop several startling cures with the new substance as early as 1930 (Krebs,23) All of the fresh out of the box new research and the newfound properties of penicillin brought these new anti biotics which cured maladies that were very common, which balanced out various sorts of microbes. The life expectancy of the urban population increased by 3 years.
Since as long as human life has been recorded, humans have been creating and inventing countless things to suit each need. Whether that be how we shelter ourselves, to how we hunt, or now in day, how we can provide a cure to live a little longer. Or as some people call it- medicine.