Findings set to have major impact on TB treatment

NEW research into the bacteria that cause tuberculosis could have "huge implications" for the treatment of the disease, scientists said today.

Little is currently known about the factors which can prompt a dormant tuberculosis (TB) infection to "wake up" and become an active disease in the body, but researchers said a fresh study could shed light on the mystery.

Findings by a team at Cornell University in New York suggest the TB-causing bacteria are able to "hijack" fats in the body to drive the progression of the disease.

Researchers believe it could help develop "innovative strategies" for treating the disease.

Professor David Russell, who led the study, is presenting the findings at the Society for General Microbiology's spring meeting in Edinburgh today.

Prof Russell said: "If our model is correct, it has huge implications for vaccines and chemotherapy programmes. A more detained knowledge of the bacterium's life cycle and its host interactions will allow us to spot new targets for drugs – opening up new possibilities for treatment."

TB is a potentially deadly disease which commonly attacks the lungs and is spread from person to person through airborne particles.

Most infections in humans are "latent", where the infected person shows no symptoms of the disease, but a small percentage of infected patients will go on to develop active TB at a later stage of their life, which can be fatal if left untreated.