History
Glycopeptides used to be the last effective line of defense for cases of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, however several newer classes of antibiotics, including linezolid of the oxazolidinone class, and daptomycin of the lipopeptide class have proven to have activity against MRSA. Vancomycin-resistant staphylococcus aureus has been seen in some countries.
While not approved for use in the U.S., teicoplanin was discovered in the early 1990s and is marketed in Europe. It is more lipophillic than vancomycin, as it has more fatty acid chains. It is considered to be 50 to 100 times more lipophillic than vancomycin. Teicoplanin has an increased half-life compared to vancomycin, as well as having better tissue penetration. It can be two to four times more active than vancomycin, but it does depend upon the organism. Teicoplanin is more acidic, forming water-soluble salts, so it can be given intramuscularly. Teicoplanin is much better at penetrating into leucocytes and phagocytes than vancomycin.
Read more about this topic: Glycopeptide Antibiotic
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of American politics is littered with bodies of people who took so pure a position that they had no clout at all.”
—Ben C. Bradlee (b. 1921)
“The history of progress is written in the blood of men and women who have dared to espouse an unpopular cause, as, for instance, the black man’s right to his body, or woman’s right to her soul.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“I think that Richard Nixon will go down in history as a true folk hero, who struck a vital blow to the whole diseased concept of the revered image and gave the American virtue of irreverence and skepticism back to the people.”
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)