Current State and Promising Opportunities on Pharmaceutical Approaches in the Treatment of Polymicrobial Diseases

Abstract

In recent years, the emergence of newly identified acute and chronic infectious disorders caused by diverse combinations of pathogens, termed polymicrobial diseases, has had catastrophic consequences for humans. Antimicrobial agents have been clinically proven to be effective in the pharmacological treatment of polymicrobial diseases. Unfortunately, an increasing trend in the emergence of multi-drug-resistant pathogens and limited options for delivery of antimicrobial drugs might seriously impact humans’ efforts to combat polymicrobial diseases in the coming decades. New antimicrobial agents with novel mechanism(s) of action and new pharmaceutical formulations or delivery systems to target infected sites are urgently required. In this review, we discuss the prospective use of novel antimicrobial compounds isolated from natural products to treat polymicrobial infections, mainly via mechanisms related to inhibition of biofilm formation. Drug-delivery systems developed to deliver antimicrobial compounds to both intracellular and extracellular pathogens are discussed. We further discuss the effectiveness of several biofilm-targeted delivery strategies to eliminate polymicrobial biofilms. At the end, we review the applications and promising opportunities for various drug-delivery systems, when compared to conventional antimicrobial therapy, as a pharmacological means to treat polymicrobial diseases.

Pharmaceutical Prospects of Bee Products: Special Focus on Anticancer, Antibacterial, Antiviral, and Antiparasitic Properties

“…Bacterial and viral infections are two of the top causes of deaths worldwide. An increasing number of reports describing the development of bacterial and viral resistance, including in the form of polymicrobial infections, against currently available antibiotics and antivirals has urged the use of alternative products with potential activities against those two types of pathogens [141][142][143][144]. One of the commodities equipped with such activities are bee products [3,[145][146][147][148][149].…”

Enhancement in Site-Specific Delivery of Chloramphenicol Using Bacterially Sensitive Microparticle Loaded Into Dissolving Microneedle: Potential For Enhanced Effectiveness Treatment of Cellulitis

“…33 The following calculations are used to compute the proportion of mechanical strength and MN penetration capability. 34 compression% initial height height after pressure applied initial height 100% = (10) n n %penetration of layer no. of holes in layer total no.…”

“…9 This is related to the interaction of different strains of bacteria, which can synergistically increase disease severity. 10 Therefore, broadspectrum antibiotics should be considered when selecting effective treatment. Chloramphenicol (CHL) is a broadspectrum antibiotic that blocks the peptidyl transferase activity of the bacterial ribosome, which prevents protein chain elongation and inhibits development growth of bacteria.…”

“…This is usually followed by a regimen of antimicrobial medications for long-term therapy, either topically or systemically. , Additionally, numerous reports of several bacterial strains colonizing human skin tissue have been reported . This is related to the interaction of different strains of bacteria, which can synergistically increase disease severity . Therefore, broad-spectrum antibiotics should be considered when selecting effective treatment.…”

Development and Characterization of Pharmaceutical Systems Containing Rifampicin

“…The continuous expansion of the global population, along with its greater interconnection, raise the risks that infectious illnesses represent to human health globally [ 1 ]. Added to that, incremental increases in antimicrobial resistance is another serious public health problem that imposes a significant social and economic impact [ 2 ]. Because infectious illnesses are so prevalent, there is an urgent need to find novel treatment options to address them.…”