The emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB) threatens TB control programs worldwide. Outbreaks of MDRTB in the United States grabbed the attention of the medical community and the general public, and subsequent surveys have found hot spots of MDRTB in low- and middle-income countries on four continents. Contributions from experts provide detailed descriptions, causes, molecular biology, laboratory diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and public health aspects of this disease. It gives an authorative overview of MDRTB and should be a useful reference book for clinicians, scientists and other health personnel involved in the care of TB and MDRTB patients in industrialized and developing countries.

Organisms are said to be drug-resistant when drugs meant to neutralise them have reduced effect. When an organism is resistant to more than one drug, it is said to be multi-drug resistant. The most prominent example of this is antibiotic resistance. Drug resistance is also found in some tumour cells, which makes it more difficult to use chemotherapy to attack tumours made of those cells. When a drug such as an antibiotic is administered, those which have a genetic resistance to the drug will survive and reproduce, and the new population will be drug-resistant. This book provides in depth research on multi-drug resistance and its impact on neuorology. This includes studies on GS-X Pump/Multidrug Resistance Proteins, Quantitation of O6 -- Methylguanine, Therapeutic Responses to Chemotherapy, Profiles in Cancer, Neurodegenerative Diseases and Multiple Sclerosis.

Based on a review of recent literature, this WIPO Global Challenges Report includes a broad overview of current approaches and consortia designed to meet the challenge of research and development (R&D) investment for new treatments. It also examines patent applications by both the public and the private sectors as an indicator of innovative activity.

A comprehensive review of the most current scientific research on ABC transporters and multidrug resistance ATP-binding cassette transporter genes (ABC transporters) are known to play a crucial role in the development of multidrug resistance (MDR). MDR is the ability of pathologic cells, such as tumors, to withstand chemicals designed to target and destroy such cells. In MDR, patients who are on medication eventually develop resistance to not only the drug they are taking, but to several different types of drugs. ABC Transporters and Multidrug Resistance offers an essential resource for pharmaceutical researchers who are working to discover drugs to counteract multidrug resistance in diseases such as cancer. In one comprehensive volume, this book contains a collection of the most current knowledge on the involvement of ABC transporters in drug transport and resistance. This comprehensive volume provides an overview on the description of the structure, the genome, normal tissue expression, physiological aspect, and mechanism of action of the ABC protein. The expert contributors explore the expression, detection, and implications of ABC proteins in hematological malignancies and solid tumors and ABC proteins and pathogenic microorganisms. This volume also explains MDR modulation through inhibition of ABC transporters and the design of inhibitors and mechanism of action. In addition, the book offers essential information on the biological and clinical aspect of multidrug resistance.

The ability of neoplastic cells to survive exposure to various chemotherapeutic drugs represents the main obstacle to successful cancer chemotherapy. This book deals with a particular type of resistance in tumor cells that represents a single but especially important aspect of the multifaceted problem of cancer drug resistance. This type of resistance, known as multidrug or pleiotropic drug resistance, is characterized by cross-resistance of cells to several different classes of cytotoxic drugs, including some of the most commonly used anticancer agents. Over the last several years, there has been a veritable explosion of genetic, biochemical, and clinical information on multidrug resistance, which followed the identification and cloning of the genes responsible for this phenotype and the isolation of monoclonal antibodies against P-glycoproteins, the products of these genes. Elucida tion of the molecular mechanism of multidrug resistance has led to the formulation of novel approaches to the prediction of tumor response to chemotherapeutic drugs and increasing the efficacy of cancer therapy. Analysis of the structure and function of P glycoproteins from multidrug-resistant mammalian cells has also established a prototype for a novel class of eukaryotic membrane proteins, which have now been associated with a variety of transport processes in different organisms. This book summarizes the results of molecular biological, pharmacological, bio chemical, cytogenetic, immunological, and pathological studies on multidrug resistance in mammalian cells. Most of the chapters deal at least to some extent with the structure and expression of P-glycoprotein and its role in multidrug resistance.

Nullius in verba. . . Truth will be tested not by words. Horace (Epistles) Few read introductions except for book reviewers, who want to take a shortcut and avoid reading the book itself. However, tradition requires that the preface make public why the book was written at all (this is not supposed to include powerful reasons such as augmenting the ego of the editor and authors). Frequently, the inflationary tendency to publish in verbose length is in conflict with market forces and interest. No doubt, multidrug resistance is a "fashionable" topic, but there are many fashions displayed on the cat-walk of scientific literature. One can rationalize that the forces driving our concern with multi drug resistance reflect the frustration of pharmaceutical companies and oncologists alike: as soon as a new anticancer drug enters clinical trials, cancer cells start eluding extinction with their elaborate and successful mechanisms. Many grants have been awarded and spent, only to confirm the futility of our efforts to defeat this cellular Darwinism. Our medical and scientific training makes it hard, if not impossible, to accept that the survival of a malignant cell, alone or as part of a tissue, is part of the continuance of life. Since exposure to noxious and lethal substances is unavoidable, cells have been forced to develop a multitude of mechanisms to prevent entry or accelerate exit of such materials from intracellular space.

Combination Therapy against Multidrug Resistance explores the potential of combination therapy as an efficient strategy to combat multi-drug resistance. Multidrug resistance (MDR) occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites are excessively exposed to antimicrobial drugs such as antibiotics, antifungals, or antivirals, and in response the microorganism undergoes mutations or develops different resistance mechanisms to combat the drug for its survival. MDR is becoming an increasingly serious problem in both developed and developing nations. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has developed faster than the production of new antibiotics, making bacterial infections increasingly difficult to treat, and the same is true for a variety of other diseases. Combination therapy proves to be a promising strategy as it offers potential benefits such as a broad spectrum of efficacy, greater potency than the drugs used in monotherapy, improved safety and tolerability, and reduction in the number of resistant organisms. This book considers how combination therapy can be applied in multiple situations, including cancer, HIV, tuberculosis, fungal infections, and more. Combination Therapy Against Multidrug Resistance gathers the most relevant information on the prospects of combination therapy as a strategy to combat multridrug resistance and helping to motivate the industrial sector and government agencies to invest more in research and development of this strategy as a weapon to tackle the multidrug resistance problem. It will be useful to academics and researchers involved in the development of new antimicrobial or antiinfective agents and treatment strtategies to combat multidrug resistance. Clinicians and medical nurses working in the field of infection prevention and control (IPC) will also find the book relevant - Explores strategic methods with investigation of both short- and long-term goals to combat multidrug resistance - Presents a broad scope to understand fully the ways to apply combined therapy to multidrug resistance - Provides an overview of combination therapy, but also includes specific cases such as cancer, tuberculosis, HIV and malaria

Fighting Multidrug Resistance with Herbal Extracts, Essential Oils and their Components offers scientists a single source aimed at fighting specific multidrug-resistant (MDR) microorganisms such as bacteria, protozoans, viruses and fungi using natural products. This essential reference discusses herbal extracts and essential oils used or under investigation to treat MDR infections, as well as those containing antimicrobial activity that could be of potential interest in future studies against MDR microorganisms. The need to combat multidrug-resistant microorganisms is an urgent one and this book provides important coverage of mechanism of action, the advantages and disadvantages of using herbal extracts, essential oils and their components and more to aid researchers in effective antimicrobial drug discovery - Addresses the need to develop safe and effective approaches to coping with resistance to all classes of antimicrobial drugs - Provides readers with current evidence-based content aimed at using herbal extracts and essential oils in antimicrobial drug development - Includes chapters devoted to the activity of herbal products against herpes, AIDS, tuberculosis, drug-resistant cancer cells and more

In today’s world, multidrug resistance appears to be one of the major health problems; however, screening, discovering and presenting novel effectual phytochemicals from medicinal plants have provided a promising outlook. Phytomedicines have been used for treating diseases and infections since time immemorial, but identifying new phytochemicals and effectual treatment strategies are essential in the fight against multidrug-resistant bacteria. Currently, isolated compounds such as α-mangostin, carnosic acid, epigallocatechin gallate, linalool, myricetin, novoimanin, α-terpineol, and totarol, have exhibited synergistic activity with antibiotics against resistant bacteria. This chapter presents information on multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria and the use of herbal extracts against them.