Download Model for Literature Review

Literature Review: Research In a Novel Drug Therapy
for Combatting MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant
S. aureus) Infections
The Blah Blah Blah Group
Joe Student
SES 391 YY
Stella Maloney
October 17, 2014
Literature Review: Research In a Novel Drug Therapy
for Combatting MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant
S. aureus) Infections
Page 1 of 5
Literature Review: Research In a Novel Drug Therapy
for Combatting MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant
S. aureus) Infections
Introduction
MRSA (methicillin-resistant S. aureus) infections have become a serious health risk.
According to the Mayo Clinic web site, “Most MRSA infections occur in people who've
been in hospitals or other health care settings, such as nursing homes and dialysis
centers. When it occurs in these settings, it's known as health care-associated MRSA
(HA-MRSA). HA-MRSA infections typically are associated with invasive procedures or
devices, such as surgeries, intravenous tubing or artificial joints” (Mayo Clinic). But
MRSA isn’t just a threat to people undergoing medical procedures. Healthy people can
contract community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) (Mayo Clinic). Since most antibiotics
are ineffective against MRSA, researchers are experimenting with new compounds to
fight the infection.
MRSA, like other bacterial infections, occurs not because of the presence of bacteria, but
because of the presence of toxins released by the bacteria as waste products of their
own metabolism. As a result, the greater the bacteria load in the body, the higher the
amount of toxins released in the body, and the more ill the person becomes.
One potential treatment for MRSA infections is a drug developed from the antivenom
component of the blood of some mammals, notably the opossum. A complex identified
as Lethal Toxin Neutralizer (LTN) has been isolated from the blood of the opossum
(Trento, Garcia, Rucavado, Franca, Batalini, Arantes, et al., 2001). Experiments
involving mice have proven that LTN is completely successful in neutralizing the toxins
present in snake venom (Trento, Garcia, Rucavado et al., 2001). Other experiments
have shown that LTN is a promising therapy for inflammatory diseases in humans (Thwin,
Samy, Satyanarayanajois, Gopalakrishnakone, 2010). Experiments suggest that it is
possible to use LTN as a therapy for cancer (Sanchez & Rodriguez-Acosta, 2008).
Research is also being done on the potential of LTN as a drug therapy for antibioticresistant bacteriological infections (Sanchez & Rodriguez-Acosta, 2008).
The focus of our research report will be on the research being done on LTN as a
potential treatment for MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant bacteriological infections of
the human body.
Literature Review: Research In a Novel Drug Therapy
for Combatting MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant
S. aureus) Infections
Page 2 of 5
Review of Literature
Sanchez, E.E. & Rodriguez-Acosta, A. (2008) Inhibitors of snake venoms and
development of new therapeutics. Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology, 30:
647-678. DOI: 10.1080/089239/70802279019
Sanchez and Rodriguez-Acosta’s research is on work already done in this field. Their
study is basically a review of past discoveries in the field of naturally occurring
anitvenoms. They look at what has been discovered about LTN derived from opossums
and from other animals (Mexican ground squirrel) and hypothesize the used of these
LTNs as potential treatments for various disease conditions ranging from the obvious
(snake bite) to the less obvious such as some cancers, inflammatory diseases such as
rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, some cancers, and potentially, some bacteriological
infections.
Overall, the value of this article lay in its introductory nature. It provided some useful
historical information as well as some interesting future directions for research and
application of LTN. It was valuable is helping the group organize its ideas on the topic.
Borkow, G., Gutierrez, J.M., & Ovadia, M. (1997) Inhibition of the haemorrhagic activity
of Bothrops asper venom by a novel neutralizing mixture. Toxicon 35: 865-877.
DOI: 10:10.1016/S0041-0101(96)00193-6
Borkow, Gutierrez and Ovadia describe how experiments with antivenom mixtures led to
the discovery of the powerful antivenom effects of a mixture of EDTA salts, horse
polyvalent anitvenom, and a fraction distilled from pit viper venom. They first
experimented with each component separately and found each to be effective to varying
degrees. However, when combined, the three ingredients formed a novel serum that
experimentally was proven to be a highly potent venom neutralizer when administered
after envenomation. However, it was effective only on pit viper venom. The authors
theorize that their novel serum could be the treatment of choice for snakebite by pit viper.
While the information on the neutralizing mixture described in this article is of no value to
our research since it only works on pit viper envenomation, the authors’ use of EDTA
salts points to some interesting possibilities of the use of EDTA salts in the preparation of
more general antitoxin treatments. The article gave us some insight into other potential
antitoxins and was useful only for this insight.
[NOTE:
IN ORDER TO KEEP IT SHORT, THIS SAMPLE LITERATURE REVIEW ONLY
SHOWS TWO ENTRIES INSTEAD OF FIVE ENTRIES. ONE FOR EACH ARTICLE
LISTED UNDER SOURCES]
Literature Review: Research In a Novel Drug Therapy
for Combatting MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant
S. aureus) Infections
Page 5 of 5
Sources
Borkow, G., Gutierrez, J.M., & Ovadia, M. (1997) Inhibition of the haemorrhagic activity
of Bothrops asper venom by a novel neutralizing mixture. Toxicon 35: 865-877.
DOI: 10:10.1016/S0041-0101(96)00193-6
Mayo Clinic (2014) MRSA infection. In Diseases and Conditions. Retrieved September
20 from
www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mrsa/basics/definition/con-20024479
Sanchez, E.E. & Rodriguez-Acosta, A. (2008) Inhibitors of snake venoms and
development of new therapeutics. Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology, 30:
647-678. DOI: 10.1080/089239/70802279019
Thwin, M-M., Samy, R.P., Satyanarayanajois, S.D., & Gopalakrishnakone, P. (2010)
Venom neutralization by purified bioactive molecules: Synthetic peptide derivatives of
the endogenous PLA2 inhibitory protein PIP (a mini review). Toxicon 56: 1275-1283.
DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2009.12.023
Trento, E.P., Garcia, O.S., Rucavado, A., Franca, S.C., Batalini, C., Arantes, E.C., et al.
(2001) Inhibitory properties of the anti-bothropic complex from Didelphis albiventris
serum on toxic and pharmacological actions of metalloproteases and myotoxins from
Bothrops asper venom. Biochemical Pharmacology 62:1521-1529.
DOI: 10.1016/S0006-2952(01)00800-0