Researchers Discover New Class of Antibiotics

A new study details the discovery of a new class of antibiotics that researchers hope will aid in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Published in Nature this week, the study identified two compounds called synthetic retinoids that can help the body fight against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). Led by Rhode Island Hospital’s chief of infectious diseases, the team’s find could be a big help in the battle to reduce the spread of MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant infections. Overprescribing and misuse has led to a rise in antibiotic resistance, with 80,000 MRSA infections and 11,000 related deaths reported in 2011 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study screened more than 82,000 compounds to find those that would work as antibiotics safely. The synthetic retinoids, which are related to Vitamin A, were found to successfully fend off MRSA in laboratory roundworms, according to Rhode Island Public Radio. One of the compounds and a less toxic chemical derivative worked in lab mice.

“With further development and optimization, synthetic retinoids have the potential to become a new class of antimicrobials for the treatment of Gram-positive bacterial infections that are currently difficult to cure,” the researchers wrote.