In the delayed antibiotic treatment of contaminated open wounds by the administration of an antibiotic, the improvement comprising applying to the surface of the said wound, as an adjunct to said antibiotic treatment, a proteolytic enzyme in amounts sufficient to potentiate the activity of said antibiotic.
A method for treating various diseases and conditions that are dependent on activated .alpha..sub.2 macroglobulin in the blood and extravascular tissue is disclosed. The method comprises orally administering a therapeutically effective amount of protease to a mammal to increase the amount of activated .alpha..sub.2 macroglobulin, which in turn enhances the clearance of TNF-.alpha., leptin, and .beta.-amyloid while enhancing delivery of TGF-.beta.. The protease may be any pharmaceutically acceptable protease, and preferably is of microbial and/or plant origin, given singly or in combination with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, bioflavonoids, proanthocyanidins, herbs, herbal extracts, plant and animal concentrates, and non-prescription analgesics. The microbial protease is preferably administered in a total daily dosage of at least 100,000 HUT (or equivalent biological activity). The plant protease component is preferably administered in a total daily dosage of at least 50,000 PU (or equivalent biological activity). A composition and method of use thereof for promoting recovery from soft tissue injury is also disclosed. The orally-administered composition contains a mixture of microbial and plant proteases, antioxidant bioflavonoids, proanthocyanidins, vitamins, minerals, plant concentrates and excipients. The composition can also include an analgesic.
The invention pertains to a cover of wounds in the form of a powder or a dry powdery fluid and is useful in covering and treating of ulcerous and necrotic wounds. It consists of animal or fungous chitin and chitosan in a powdered form of particle size 0.01 to 0.3 mm or of crosslinked dextran in the form of spheric particles of diameter 0.05 to 0.5 mm and of an immobilized protease. Enzymes are chemically bonded to the structure of the biopolymeric carrier and provide cleaning of the wound by dissolution of undesirable protein material, in particular fibrin, necrotic tissues, components of pus, and the like. In addition the adsorption and regeneration effects of powder act to provide suction of exudate and purulent matter infected with bacteria into interstitial capillary space. The cover according to the invention acts by fast cleaning of necrotic defects and speeds up the granulation and healing of the wound. The invention can be utilized in pharmaceutical production.
The invention provides methods for using agonists and antagonists of FabK polypeptides, particularly to modulate the metabolism of bacteria or to treat bacterial infection.
Methods for screening for compounds which potentiate the activity of antibacterial agents against bacteria resistant to the antibacterial agent alone, pharmaceutical compositions including such potentiators, and methods of treating bacterial infections using a combination of a potentiator and a potentiated antibacterial agent, which are useful for overcoming the resistance of a bacterial strain for an antibacterial agent.
A purified thiol activated protease obtained from bromelain stem extract is provided. The protease has a molecular weight of about 17,000 daltons to about 21,000 daltons and an isoelectric point of about pI 4.5 to about pI 5.0. Methods for obtaining this enzyme and methods for use of this enzyme for debridement of eschar tissue are disclosed.
