Special Issue "Antibiotics"

Guest Editor
Dr. Mark C. Bagley
School of Chemistry, Main Building, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, Wales, UK
Website: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/chemy/staff/bagley.html
E-Mail:
Interests: Heterocyclic chemistry, synthetic chemistry and ageing research, synthetic chemistry and tissue engineering, synthetic chemistry and cell signalling, synthetic chemistry and chemical engineering, Microwave- assisted synthesis and methodology

Guest Editor
Dr. John Spencer
University of Greenwich at Medway, Chatham ME4 4TB, UK
E-Mail:

Dear Colleagues,

Antibiotics are central to healthcare, society and medicinal chemistry and the field is constantly evolving, in tandem with the bacteria that they aim to eradicate. The constant challenges facing us still pertain to the effectiveness of these agents in disease treatment and management to lessen the heavy burden on society. As a leading scientist in this area, we invite you to contribute an article, review or communication to this special edition on “Antibiotics” with specific relevance to the antibiotics field. Specific topics include, but are not limited to: prevention, new therapeutic agents, drug discovery, diagnostics and drug resistance.

Dr. Mark C. Bagley
Guest Editor

Dr. John Spencer
Guest Editor

Submission

All manuscripts should be submitted to pharmaceuticals@mdpi.org with a copy to the Guest Editor. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed Open Access monthly journal published by MDPI.

• antibacterial activity
• bacterial metabolism and biosynthesis
• bacterial resistance
• clinical trials
• combinatorial libraries
• drug discovery
• medicinal chemistry
• mode of action
• natural products
• screening
• quorum sensing

Manuscript ID: Pharmaceuticals-antibiotics-20091027-Haydel-us
Type of Paper: Review
Title: Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: A Sign of the Times and Impetus for Antimicrobial Discovery
Author: Shelley E. Haydel ^1,2
Affiliations: ¹ Biodesign Institute, Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, Arizona State University, 727 E Tyler St, Tempe, AZ‎, USA‎
² School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 1711 S Rural Rd, Tempe, AZ, USA
Abstract: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an extraordinary successful human pathogen, infecting one-third of the world’s population and causing nearly two million deaths each year. This global emergency is further exacerbated by extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis strains that are resistant to our best antibiotics and sometimes completely unresponsive to chemotherapeutic treatment. This review will focus on the emergence of XDR-TB strains, the global health significance, ongoing efforts of antimicrobial development to address tuberculosis drug resistance, and the impetus for discovering new bioactive compounds to target drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Manuscript ID: Pharmaceuticals-antibiotics-20091110-Di Stefano-it
Type of Paper: Review
Title: Rational Use of Antibiotics in the Treatment of Functional Bowel Disorders
Authors: M. Di Stefano, C. Mengoli and G.R. Corazza
Affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Pavia, Foundation IRCCS “S.Matteo” Hospital, Piazzale Camillo Golgi 19, Pavia 27100, Italy; E-Mail: m.distefano@smatteo.pv.it
Abstract: Functional gastrointestinal symptoms such us bloating, fullness, flatulence, diarrhea, and constipation due to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were recently erroneously attributed to small bowel bacterial overgrowth, a condition depending on the presence of an increased number of bacteria in the small bowel. This association provoked an incorrect use of antibiotics. However, antibiotics could be effective in the treatment of functional complaints, but only in a subgroup of patients, characterized by an increase of fermentation at colonic level. In this review, we have commented on the rationale for antibiotic use in IBS and revised the papers suggesting the incorrect pathophysiological link between IBS and small bowel bacterial overgrowth.

Manuscript ID: Pharmaceuticals-antibiotics-20091119-Simoens-be
Type of Paper: Review
Title: Health Economics of Antibiotics
Author: Steven Simoens
Affiliation: Research Centre for Pharmaceutical Care and Pharmaco-economics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, K.U. Leuven, Onderwijs en Navorsing 2 P.O. Box 521, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; E-Mail: Steven.Simoens@pharm.kuleuven.be
Abstract: Bacterial infections impose a significant burden on society in terms of morbidity, mortality, reduced quality of life and healthcare expenditure. New generations of antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections. The optimal strategy to manage bacterial infections on health economic grounds depends on issues such as diagnosis of an infection, safety, effectiveness and costs of available alternatives. This review outlines the current state of the art of health economic knowledge of the management of bacterial infections with antibiotics. Specifically, it reports and discusses estimates of the cost-effectiveness of antimicrobial therapy in the management of bacterial infections.