Tuberculosis May Be Treated with 70-Year-Old Parkinson’s Drug

Tuberculosis May Be Treated with 70-Year-Old Parkinson’s Drug

A medication originally developed in the 1950s to treat Parkinson’s disease (PD) has shown potential in early studies as treatment for tuberculosis (TB), according to researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC). In a study published in npj Antimicrobials & Resistance, the UBC team showed that benztropine significantly reduced bacterial load in TB-infected mice by boosting the body’s immune response to TB infection. “New approaches fo…

The Parkinson’s Drug Benztropine Possesses Histamine Receptor 1-Dependent Host-Directed Antimicrobial Activity Against Mycobacterium tuberculosis - Science in Vancouver

Intracellular pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) evade host defence mechanisms to infect and survive within host cells. Host-directed therapy (HDT) offers a promising alternative to antibiotics and may overcome antimicrobial resistance. Using high-content screening, we identified benztropine (BZT), an approved Parkinson’s disease drug, as a potent inhibitor of intracellular Mtb. BZT is active in both human and murine macrophages …