Study shows how to create effective antibiotics that don't damage hearing
The world needs new antibiotics to overcome the ever-increasing resistance of disease-causing bacteria – but it doesn’t need the side effect that comes with some of the most powerful ones now available: hearing loss. Today, researchers report they have developed a new approach to designing antibiotics that kill even “superbugs” but spare the delicate sensory cells of the inner ear.
Surprisingly, they have found that apramycin, an antibiotic already used in veterinary medicine, fits this bill -- setting the stage for testing in humans.