New antibiotics can treat blindness in the eyes of mice

team of researchers from britain, the United States, Japan and Germany has developed an antibiotic that kills a bacterium necessary for larvae to grow in parasites that cause river blindness. In their paper, published in the journal PNAS, the team described their development of antibiotics and their effectiveness in treating river blindness in mice.
is a disease caused by parasite worms. When the larvae are under the skin, people become infected. In many cases, the infection can cause severe itching and disfigurement; When larvae enter the eyes, they usually cause blindness. Wolbachia is a necessary bacteria to promote the survival of worm larvae.
previous studies have led to the development of antibiotics for the Wolbachia, but they require patients to take them for 4-6 weeks a day. A new antibiotic called AWZ1066S, in addition to effectively killing the Wolbachus, can be used or orally for a shorter period of time. In addition, the researchers found that it did not disrupt the gut biome.
that so far, the new antibiotic has only been tested in laboratory animals. And because it is considered a treatment for a very rare disease, the team is unlikely to receive funding for clinical trial development any time soon. (Bio Valley)