Antifungal Drugs & Resistance & New Drugs for Tuberculosis

Flashcards covering vocabulary from the Antifungal Drugs & Resistance and New Drugs for Tuberculosis lecture.

Candida albicans

Normal flora of oral cavity, genitalia, large intestine or skin of humans; Accounts for 70% of nosocomial fungal infections.

Thrush

Occurs as a thick, white, adherent growth on the mucous membranes of mouth and throat.

Cryptococcus neoformans

A yeast fungus that causes cryptococcosis, common in AIDS, cancer, or diabetes patients.

Systemic Cryptococcus neoformans infection treatment

Amphotericin B and fluconazole

Polyenes

Antifungal drug that disrupts the plasma membrane and causes leakage of the cytoplasm. Example: Amphotericin B and Nystatin.

Azoles

Antifungal drug that interferes with ergosterol synthesis. Examples: Imidazoles (ketoconazole, miconazole, clotrimazole) and Triazoles (fluconazole, itraconazole).

Allylamines

Antifungal drug that inhibits an enzyme in ergosterol synthesis; administered topically to treat dermatophyte infections. Examples include Naftifine and Terbinafine (Lamisil).

Echinocandins

Antifungal drug that blocks the synthesis of a polysaccharide component of the cell wall. Example: Caspofungin.

Griseofulvin

Antifungal drug used to treat skin and nail infections; concentrates in the dead keratinized layers of the skin.

Flucytosine

Antifungal drug used for systemic yeast infections; inhibits an enzyme required for nucleic acid synthesis.

Ergosterol

A sterol on the cell membranes of fungi. Maintains cell membrane integrity, similar to mammalian cholesterol.

Fluconazole

Synthetic antifungal drug with broad-spectrum fungistatic activity, effective in treating infections with most Candida spp.

Isoniazid (INH)

First-line anti-tuberculosis medication; a prodrug activated by KatG catalase, inhibits synthesis of mycolic acid in the mycobacterial cell wall.

Ethambutol

First-line anti-tuberculosis medication that blocks arabinogalactan synthesis, inhibiting the incorporation of mycolic acid into the cell wall.

Bedaquiline

Targets ATP synthase (energy supply) and is used for the treatment of MDR-TB.

Pyrazinamide

A first-line anti-tuberculosis antibiotic with an unknown target/mechanism.

Streptomycin

A first-line anti-tuberculosis antibiotic that targets protein synthesis by binding to 16S rRNA.

Rifampicin

A first-line anti-tuberculosis antibiotic that targets RNA Polymerase.