BUGS AND DRUGS: THOUGHTS ONCOMBATING ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCEFROM FINLANDMEGHAN WHALEN

FULBRIGHT STUDENT GRANTEE

AMERICA IN LIVING COLOR SEMINAR

MARCH 2013

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TODAY’S AGENDA

• Who am I and why am I here?

• Introduction to the History of Antibiotics

• Antibiotic Resistance: What is it and why you should care?

• Troubles for the Future

• Getting involved: Research at the University of Helsinki

• Concluding Thoughts

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WHO AM I AND WHY AM I IN FINLAND?

• Three pharmacists in my family!• Passionate about antibiotics• Lack of research and desire to learn

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ALL ABOUT ANTIB

IOTICS

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ANTIBIOTIC HISTORY

• Antibiotic History• The term “Antibiotic” (1941)• Alexander Fleming and Penicillin• Fleming’s Nobel Speech Prize in 1945

“But I would like to sound one note of warning. Penicillin is to allintents and purposes non-poisonous so there is no need to worry aboutgiving an overdose and poisoning the patient. There may be a danger,though, in underdosage. It is not difficult to make microbes resistant topenicillin in the laboratory by exposing them to concentrations notsufficient to kill them, and the same thing has occasionally happenedin the body.”

6parasites-world.com

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE

• Antibiotic Resistance: The ability of bacteria and othermicroorganisms to resist the effects of an antibiotic (drug) towhich they were once sensitive.

• Bugs vs Drugs• Mechanisms of how the bacteria survive the drugs

• Pumps, enzymes, blocking cell wall, different metabolic pathways

• Overuse of antibiotics and its effects• MRSA = emphysema, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s

disease, & homicide

7http://eyemicrobiology.upmc.com/Antibiotic.htm

HERE COMES TROUBLE!-LACK OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESEARCH• Antibiotics transformed medicine• Shift from diagnosis to treatment focused approach

• Lack of new antibiotics• 1945-1968: 13 new categories• 1986=Today: Only 2 new categories• Not enough profit for the drug companies

• Closing antibiotic research departments

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ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE IN FINLAND

• Low levels of antibiotic resistance• Finnish care recommendations for cystitis (bladder infection)

• First-line antimicrobial agents for the treatment ofuncomplicated cystitis (UTI) are trimethoprim, pivmecillinam,nitrofurantoin, or a fluoroquinolone

• Cephalexin (cefalexin) or cefadroxil, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and amoxicillin (amoxicilline) second line

• Conducting great research and collaborating!

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•Chlamydia pneumoniae

• Discovered in 1980s

• Causes pneumonia

• Intracellular bacteria

• Chronic infections

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ANTIMICROBIAL RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI

Kalayoglu, M. V., Libby, P. & Byrne, G. I. Chlamydia pneumoniae as an emerging risk factor in cardiovascular disease. JAMA 288, 2724–2731 (2002).

PHARMACEUTICAL CHEMISTRY AT U. HELSINKI

• Trying to find a compound that isvery active against C. pneumoniae

• Using a benzimidazole structure

• Creating a compound library forfuture researchers

• Chemistry is like a giganticpuzzle…

11http://www.cafepress.co.uk

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A Day in the Life of a Chemist…

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First Synthetic Route

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Second Synthetic Route

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CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

• What next?• Compounds sent for biological activity tests

• Prof. Pia Vuorela (Department of Biosciences, Åbo Akademi University))• Other collaborators: Israel, Madrid, and general testing at U. Helsinki

• What to take away…• Antibiotic resistance Serious concern• Lack of research Even more of a concern• Encouragement for antimicrobial research

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• Fulbright Center• University of Helsinki, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry• Jari Yli-Kauhaluoma• Paula Kiuru• Leena Keurulainen• All of my fellow Fulbright grantees!• All of you!

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REFERENCES

http://eyemicrobiology.upmc.com/Antibiotic.htm

Miika Bergman, Solja T. Nyberg, Pentti Huovinen, Pirkko Paakkari, Antti J. Hakanen,and the Finnish Study Group for Antimicrobial Resistance. 2009. Associationbetween Antimicrobial Consumption and Resistance in Escherichia coli.Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 53: 912-917. doi:10.1128/AAC.00856-08.

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QUESTIONS?

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Hint: This should be you.