drug resistance
Antibiotics losing effectiveness
Drug resistance is the ability of a disease-causing organism—bacteria, viruses, parasites, or cancer cells—to withstand medications that once killed or controlled it.
Resistance develops when organisms mutate or adapt under selective pressure from treatment: The infection no longer responds to standard antibiotics due to drug resistance.
Overuse of antibiotics accelerates the problem.
Drug-resistant staph infection
- superbugTreatment-resistant pathogen
- penicillinFungus-derived infection fighter
- vancomycinGlycopeptide antibiotic for resistant infections
- methicillinSynthetic penicillin antibiotic
tetracycline · cephalosporins · staphylococcus · streptococcus · tuberculosis · gonorrhea · pseudomonas · overuse
Therapy not achieving goals
- combination therapyUsing multiple treatments together
- monotherapyTreatment with one drug
- dosageMeasured medicine amount
- clinical trialHuman subject research experiment
Drug blocking viral reproduction
- HIVAIDS-causing retrovirus
- viral loadPathogen count in body
- adherenceFaithful following of something
- treatment regimenPlanned course of medical care
Cancer medicine specialty
- treatment failureTherapy not achieving goals
- relapseReturn to former illness
Influence favoring certain traits
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
- fitnessGood physical shape
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
clonal expansion · genetic variation · natural selection · persistence · subpopulation
MRSA
Drug-resistant staph infection
- superbugTreatment-resistant pathogen
- penicillinFungus-derived infection fighter
- vancomycinGlycopeptide antibiotic for resistant infections
methicillin · tetracycline · cephalosporins · staphylococcus · streptococcus · tuberculosis · gonorrhea · pseudomonas · overuse · overprescription
treatment failure
Therapy not achieving goals
- combination therapyUsing multiple treatments together
- monotherapyTreatment with one drug
- dosageMeasured medicine amount
clinical trial · MIC · breakpoint · compliance · pharmacokinetics
antiretroviral
Drug blocking viral reproduction
- HIVAIDS-causing retrovirus
- viral loadPathogen count in body
- adherenceFaithful following of something
treatment regimen · combination therapy · viral mutation · hepatitis
oncology
Cancer medicine specialty
- treatment failureTherapy not achieving goals
- relapseReturn to former illness
selective pressure
Influence favoring certain traits
adaptation · clonal expansion · genetic variation · natural selection · persistence · subpopulation
gene mutation
Change in DNA sequence
- plasmidsCircular extrachromosomal DNA elements
- Drug ResistanceMRSA, superbug, resistant strains, AMR
- global healthdisease, pandemic, World Health Organization, medications, pandemics
- Health Hazardsair pollution, asbestos, carbon monoxide, chemical spills, cholera
- medical issuesdiagnosis, symptoms, complications, prognosis, treatment failure
- HIV/AIDSHIV, AIDS, AIDS crisis, AIDS quilt, antiretrovirals
- pharmacologypharmacology, pharmacokinetics, dose, medications, dosage
drug, drugs, resistance, resisting, resisted, nonresistant, resistor, resistive, antidrug