Antibiotics

The pain-relieving effects of drugs like ibuprofen are well known. But ibuprofen and its relatives, known as nonsteroidal [anti-inflammatory:reactive] drugs, may someday have another use - as antibiotics. Researchers tested three anti-inflammatory drugs: bromfenac, used in eye drops, and carprofen and vedaprofen, both for treating [conditions:situations] like arthritis in dogs. The investigators found that all three drugs bind to something called the "DNA clamp" in bacteria. That clamp is [essential:necessary] to repairing and replicating DNA. By jamming it, the painkillers can [actually:not] kill live E. coli - in a test tube, at least.The findings appear in the journal [Chemistry:Physical] Biology. Study author Aaron Oakley, of Australia's University of Wollongong, says we still need [clinical:medical] trials to tell if this trick holds true in humans. But this study is a first step. "I guess it alerts a lot of clinicians to the fact that some of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories that they're using may have this off-target effect." And it gives drug developers - like Oakley and his colleagues - a whole new way to attack antibiotic-resistant bacteria.