TB Research

Recent Progress and Challenges for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Treatment

Filia Stephanie, Mutiara Saragih, Usman Sumo Friend Tambunan

Pharmaceutics · 2021-04

Abstract

infection continues to be an issue, particularly in countries with a high tuberculosis (TB) burden in the tropical and sub-tropical regions. The effort to reduce the catastrophic cost of TB with the WHO's End TB Strategy in 2035 is still obstructed by the emergence of drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) cases as result of various mutations of the MTB strain. In the approach to combat DR-TB, several potential antitubercular agents were discovered as inhibitors for various existing and novel targets. Host-directed therapy and immunotherapy also gained attention as the drug-susceptibility level of the pathogen can be reduced due to the pathogen's evolutionary dynamics. This review is focused on the current progress and challenges in DR-TB treatment. We briefly summarized antitubercular compounds that are under development and trials for both DR-TB drug candidates and host-directed therapy. We also highlighted several problems in DR-TB diagnosis, the treatment regimen, and drug discovery that have an impact on treatment adherence and treatment failure.

MeSH terms

  • Tuberculosis
  • Medicine
  • Intensive care medicine
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  • Drug
  • Drug resistance
  • Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
  • Regimen
  • Drug resistant tuberculosis
  • Drug discovery
  • Immunology