This press release is available in French.
Montreal, September 15, 2009 – Tuberculosis is a global threat that affects more than 10 million people each year. Working with colleagues in the United States and France, Dr. Dick Menzies of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) has placed current tuberculosis treatment guidelines under the microscope in a new study. The team's conclusions, published today in two separate articles in the journal PLoS Medicine, recommend that the World Health Organization (WHO) must review and adjust its guidelines for fighting the disease.
"Our first study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of 57 studies, involving more than 20,000 patients from around the world," says Dr. Menzies. "It demonstrates that the treatment period should be extended for people affected by the active form of tuberculosis for the first time. Specifically, the study recommends that these patients should be treated with Rifampin for six months, instead of two months; the additional four months will help maximize the medication's effectiveness."
In the second article, the researchers assess guidelines for patients who have been treated but not cured. "Currently, these patients receive a cocktail of drugs over the course of eight months, which can result in drug resistance and a failure to cure in up to 45 per cent of cases," says Dr. Menzies. "More studies are needed to determine the optimal strategy. However, we believe that it is essential – indeed, of critical importance – to thoroughly review these guidelines."
"Our challenge as researchers is to put into place the most effective strategies for the treatment of tuberculosis, to determine the optimal length for courses of treatment so as to avoid relapse, and to formulate more effective combinations of drugs in order to avoid drug resistance," Dr. Menzies adds. The two studies will allow the WHO to review and update its directives for the treatment of tuberculosis, thereby benefiting the global community.
Dr. Dick Menzies is the Director of Respiratory Medicine at the MUHC and a researcher in the Respiratory Health Axis and Health Outcomes Axis at the Research Institute of the MUHC. He is also a Full Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Occupational Health in the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University.
Partners
This article was co-authored by Dr. Dick Menzies, Dr. Andrea Benedetti, Dr. Anita Paydar, Dr. Ian Martin and Dr. Madhukar Pai from the RI-MUHC, Dr. Sarah Royce from the University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, USA, Dr. Andrew Vernon from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA Dr. Christian Lienhardt from the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases and Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France and Dr. William Burman, from the Denver Public Health, Denver, Colorado, USA
Funding
This study was funded by the World Health Organization (WHO). The Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ) provided salary support for some authors.
The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC) is a world-renowned biomedical and health-care hospital research centre. Located in Montreal, Quebec, the institute is the research arm of the MUHC, the university health center affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University. The institute supports over 600 researchers, nearly 1200 graduate and post-doctoral students and operates more than 300 laboratories devoted to a broad spectrum of fundamental and clinical research. The Research Institute operates at the forefront of knowledge, innovation and technology and is inextricably linked to the clinical programs of the MUHC, ensuring that patients benefit directly from the latest research-based knowledge.
The Research Institute of the MUHC is supported in part by the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec. For further details visit: www.muhc.ca/research.
Once the embargo is lifted you will find this press release, with the original article and a short audio interview by following this link: http://www.muhc.ca/media/news/
About McGill University
McGill University, founded in Montreal, Que., in 1821, is Canada's leading post-secondary institution. It has two campuses, 11 faculties, 10 professional schools, 300 programs of study and more than 34,000 students. McGill attracts students from more than 160 countries around the world. Almost half of McGill students claim a first language other than English – including 6,000 francophones – with more than 6,400 international students making up almost 20 per cent of the student body.
Journal
PLoS Medicine