Biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa visualized directly in sputum (phlegm) samples collected from children with cystic fibrosis (CF) did not match biofilms when bacteria were first isolated from sputum and grown as an in vitro model, a study revealed. In vitro (in-the-lab) model systems are typically used to study…

Differences in Psl, a complex sugar molecule produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, contribute to the bacterium’s resistance against the antibiotic tobramycin in children with cystic fibrosis (CF), a study shows. While tobramycin-resistant P. aeruginosa produced similar levels of Psl to those that were effectively eradicated with the antibiotic, its Psl molecules…

A new biomaterial made up of nanoparticles showed a potential to improve — by up to 100,000 times — the efficiency of tobramycin, an antibiotic used to treat cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. Tobramycin, carried within a nanostructured material, completely eradicated P. aeruginosa infection in a…

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) has given Kinnear Pharmaceuticals up to $3 million to conduct the laboratory tests of CSA-131, a potential inhaled treatment of infections in people with cystic fibrosis (CF), that are needed to move it into human trials. CF patients are prone to bacterial lung…

ContraFect has been awarded to $18.9 million by the nonprofit investment group CARB-X to advance CF-370 as a potential treatment for Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. These bacteria and the thick layer of biofilm they produce are a major cause of pulmonary exacerbations in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. CARB-X, which stands for…

A potential way of killing persistent bacterial infections like those common to people with cystic fibrosis (CF) — using nutrient channels that may exist within bacterial communities to carry antibiotics — is suggested by a research team at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. Their study, “…

AB569 is safe and effective at killing bacteria resistant to traditional antibiotics, in particular Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), an important disease-exacerbating microbe in cystic fibrosis (CF), a study showed. The study, “AB569, a nontoxic chemical tandem that kills major human pathogenic bacteria,” was published in the journal…

Manuka honey, produced from the nectar of a flowering plant native to Australia and New Zealand, showed significant anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa activity in an experimental model of lung infection designed to closely replicate the pulmonary environment of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). The results were reported in the study “Anti-pseudomonad…

Synspira’s inhaled SNSP113 candidate therapy against bacterial biofilms in the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) has received orphan drug status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The buildup of mucus in CF patients’ organs, including the lungs, promotes the development of bacterial biofilms — aggregates of bacteria that adhere…

A new therapy which is administered directly into the lung of viruses can kill bacteria, and was shown to be effective in reducing Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection and associated inflammation in a mouse model of cystic fibrosis (CF). This new strategy may pave the way for future treatments of…