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Tuberculosis-- New Treatments in
Evolution by Stephen Gillespie,
Professor of Medicine at the
University of St. Andrews.
In this presentation, I will
outline a little of the history
of anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy
and tell you something
of the exciting new studies
that are currently underway.
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Tuberculosis is an ancient disease.
It was described by
Hippocrates, who recognized
that this disease was untreatable.
Avicenna recognized that
tuberculosis was contagious.
And he advised that patients
should be put into quarantine.
This concept was developed
further by Herman Brehmer
in the 19th century,
who developed what
is known as the Sanatorium Movement.
This approach was widely
adopted across Europe
with most cities opening
sanatoria for TB treatment.
Most of them were not
closed until the 1970s.
In the 1880s, there were campaigns
in the United States and the United
Kingdom to raise
awareness of tuberculosis.
Public health notification
was established.
And public information campaigns
advising against coughing
and spitting were placed
in public transport.
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In the early antibiotic era,
research showed that tuberculosis
was not susceptible to
the newly available drugs.
Many thought that this was due
to the complexity of the organism
and that tuberculosis might
prove too difficult to treat.
At this time, there were many
other potential cures including
pelargonium roots, a Zulu treatment
for respiratory infection.
Cod liver oil was thought to be
useful in preventing the disease.
Gold was applied by some physicians
with a degree of success.
But many patients
experienced toxicity.
It was the discovery by Selman
Waksman and Albert Schatz
of streptomycin that revolutionized
tuberculosis chemotherapy.
In the United States,
this drug was introduced
into practice without
clinical trials.
