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Fighting against the TB superbug
Growing cells for the heart muscle
Fighting against the TB superbug
More than one-third of the world's population suffer from tuberculosis (TB) – with the Western Cape particularly badly affected. Stellenbosch University research now indicates that drug resistance may be an even bigger problem than previously thought.
New data from the Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Health Sciences also show that – because diagnosis is too slow – the dangerous bacteria in drug-resistant strains of TB are freely passed on.
The first research results about this was presented at the faculty's academic year day recently.
 Prof Tommie Victor of Medical Biochemistry (Photo left) says patients are already showing resistance to as many as five of the six frontline anti-TB drugs.
And "super-bugs" which become more and more resistant, and continue to spread among people, pose another threat. Drug-resistant TB can cost as much as R20 000 a patient, compared to about R200 a patient for drug-susceptible TB.
Research shows that more than half of patients with drug-resistant TB who were tested in two of the Western Cape's four health districts were resistant to Pyrazinamide (PZA) – one of the four drugs included in the single-dose treatment of TB in South Africa.
Urgent efforts are needed to diagnose TB quicker. The Stellenbosch University researchers warns that, if first-line treatment fails, the risk of multi-drug resistant TB may grow in patients already infected with drug-resistant strains.
 Prof Rob Warren, (Photo right) also of Medical Biochemistry at SU, is to publish research in a prominent American medical journal that has sunk the dogma that a person develops TB through a single infection.
He's already released findings that that two different TB strains could be found in one patient – implying more than one infection.
This means that the first infection didn't protect the patient against a second infection – posing serious implications for vaccine development.
Warren has found that some patients have both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant strains TB at the same time. Treatment with antibiotics leads tot the resistant strain emerging as the dominant one.
Poor diagnosis can lead to the multidrug-resistant strain being diagnosed only when the original diagnosis fails, while whole communities are put at risk.
It can take up to eight weeks to identify whether a TB strain is resistant – while the infection is being passed on to others.
Growing cells for the heart muscle
Cells that were grown and harvested by Stellenbosch University medical researchers have helped to repair the damaged heart muscles of four patients with end-stage heart failure.
Although still in its beginning stages, it may pave the way for a fully-fledged research trial soon.
The results of the early clinical research findings have been released by cardiothoracic surgeon Prof Johan Brink of UCT, at the recent South African transplant congress where it was opened for peer review for the first time. If successful, it could help many more people in need of heart transplants.
Brink and Dr Dave Harris, a cardiac surgeon at Tygerberg Hospital and the Stellenbosch University Faculty of Health Sciences, performed the surgery. In a laboratory, Prof Don du Toit, head of the Department of Anatomy and Histology at Stellenbosch University, grew the myoblast cells that were harvested from the patients.
The cultured myoblast stem cells were grown over a period of about six weeks. The implants were done in January this year.
Myoblasts are powerful cells – originating from human muscle stem cells and with the ability to take on the properties of cells which cannot regenerate, such as cardiac muscle cells.
In the laboratory, up to 500 million cells were produced in vitro – and were then injected into the areas where the heart muscles had been damaged. Each of the four patients (aged between 52 and 77 years) received approximately 30 injections.
No major complications occurred and all four patients were discharged within four days of surgery. They are making steady progress and have not been readmitted to hospital for heart failure.
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