Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site bbncca.ARPA Path: utzoo!linus!bbncca!sdyer From: sdyer@bbncca.ARPA (Steve Dyer) Newsgroups: net.med Subject: Re: new antibiotic? Message-ID: <1046@bbncca.ARPA> Date: Fri, 19-Oct-84 18:41:52 EDT Article-I.D.: bbncca.1046 Posted: Fri Oct 19 18:41:52 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 20-Oct-84 06:58:26 EDT References: <1520@cbneb.UUCP> Organization: Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Cambridge, Ma. Lines: 20 Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole is not a new antibiotic, but a combination of a common sulfa drug (sulfamethoxazole--Gantanol) and a rather interesting folic acid inhibitor, trimethoprim. Together, they work synergistically to inhibit bacterial growth by interfering with their metabolic pathways. Bacterial resistence generally develops rapidly to either drug when given alone, but together, the combination has remained pretty potent. Both drugs are relatively non-toxic to humans, relative to bacteria -- trimethoprim does not interfere with human folic acid metabolism to the degree that it affects bacteria, and sulfa drugs act as PABA antagonists, a compound which does not figure prominently in human metabolism. Your doctor should be able to give you any special instructions about contraindications and warnings. It is generally a good idea to drink a lot of water when taking sulfa drugs, because of their relative insolubility in human urine, even though the combination allows much lower total doses of the sulfa drug. -- /Steve Dyer {decvax,linus,ima,ihnp4}!bbncca!sdyer sdyer@bbncca.ARPA