- Authors: Amaral L, Boeree MJ, Gillespie SH, Udwadia ZF, Van Soolingen D
- Journal: International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents
- Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Thioridazine+cures+extensively+drug-resistant+tuberculosis+(XDR-TB)+and+the+need+for+global+trials+is+now
Thioridazine (TDZ) has been shown to have in vitro activity against multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, to promote the killing of intracellular MDR and XDR strains and to cure the mouse of antibiotic-susceptible and -resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) infections. Recently, TDZ was used to cure 10 of 12 XDR-TB patients in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the time of writing, it is being used for the therapy of non-antibiotic-responsive terminal XDR-TB patients in Mumbai, India, on the basis of compassionate therapy and although it is too early to determine a cure, the patients have improved appetite, weight gain, are afebrile and free of night sweats, and their radiological picture shows great improvement. Because XDR-TB is essentially a terminal disease in many areas of the world and no new effective agents have yet to yield successful clinical trials, global clinical trials for the therapy of XDR-TB are urgently required.