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Joan Stephenson, PhD

JAMA. 2005;293:286.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A new antibiotic shows promise for treating tuberculosis (TB) more swiftly than current anti-TB drugs, according to research by scientists in Belgium, France, Sweden, and the United States. The study was published on December 9 in an online edition of Science (http://www.sciencemag.org).

The drug, called R207910, belongs to a newly discovered family of compounds called diarylquinolines and appears to have a mechanism of action that differs from that of other antibiotics used to treat TB or other infections, impeding the cell’s ability to produce energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate. Cell culture studies found that R207910 potently inhibits both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant TB bacteria, the researchers reported.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 6 to 9 months of triple-drug therapy (with rifampin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide) to treat patients infected with drug-sensitive TB. Studies in mice (using Mycobacterium smegmatis as a surrogate for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. . . [Full Text of this Article]