World Health Organization to revise tuberculosis treatment guidelines based on MUHC/Â鶹AV research
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 Â鶹AV Health Centre (RI-MUHC) has placed current tuberculosis treatment guidelines under the microscope in a new study published today in two separate articles in the journal PLoS Medicine. The studies, which were commissioned and partly funded by the World Health Organization (WHO), recommend a review and adjustment of worldwide 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 Â鶹AV.
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
DĂ©veloppement, Paris, France and Dr. William Burman, from the
Denver Public Health, Denver, Colorado, USAÂ
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 Â鶹AV 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 Â鶹AV. 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: .
You will find this press release, with the original article and a short audio interview by following this link:
About Â鶹AV
Â鶹AV, 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. Â鶹AV attracts students from more than 160 countries around the world. Almost half of Â鶹AV 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.
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Julie Robert
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MUHC Public Relations and Communications
(514) 843 1560
julie.robert [at] muhc.mcgill.ca