Untitled Flashcards Set

Chemotherapy

The use of drugs to treat diseases, particularly cancer and infections.

Selective Toxicity

The principle that a drug should harm the pathogen but not the host, allowing for effective treatment with minimal side effects.

Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC)

The smallest concentration of a drug that visibly inhibits the growth of a pathogen.

Paul Ehrlich

Developed the concept of selective toxicity and discovered Salvarsan, the first effective treatment for syphilis.

Alexander Fleming

Discovered penicillin in 1928, the first naturally produced antimicrobial.

Howard Florey and Ernst Chain

Worked on scaling up penicillin production and demonstrated its efficacy in the early 1940s.

Domagk

Discovered Prontosil, the first synthetic antimicrobial drug.

Spectrum of Activity

Refers to the range of pathogens that an antimicrobial drug can affect, categorized into broad-spectrum (affects many groups) and narrow-spectrum (affects few pathogens).

Antibiotic Resistance

Occurs due to improper use of antibiotics, leading to the overgrowth of resistant strains and potential superinfections.

Penicillin

A beta-lactam antibiotic effective against certain Gram-positive bacteria, but can cause allergic reactions.

Ampicillin

Inhibits peptidoglycan biosynthesis, effective against some Gram-negative bacteria.

Tetracyclines

Antibiotics that halt translation by targeting ribosomal differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

Rifampin

Interferes with RNA synthesis, effective against tuberculosis and can cause liver damage.

Nystatin

An antifungal used against Candida infections.

Amphotericin B

Used for serious systemic fungal infections.

Superinfection Examples

Urinary tract infections leading to vaginal yeast infections due to antibiotic use.

Compound 606 (Salvarsan)

Paul Ehrlich's first successful antimicrobial drug against Treponema pallidum.

Broad-spectrum antibiotics

Affect many taxonomic groups, examples include Tetracyclines and Ampicillin.

Narrow-spectrum antibiotics

Affect only a few pathogens, an example is Penicillin (natural).

Common mechanisms of antibiotic resistance

Include altered metabolic pathways, antibiotic inactivation, and active export of antibiotics.