New tested drug regimen speeds tuberculosis treatment

MELBOURNE: An experimental cocktail of three drugs can dramatically shorten the time it takes to treat patients infected with tuberculosis (TB) strains that are hard to cure with conventional antibiotics, according to research presented on Monday at the world AIDS forum.

Dubbed the PaMZ regimen, the drugs killed more TB bacteria than standard therapy and at a faster rate in a so-called Phase IIb trial, usually the penultimate step in vetting new treatments for safety and effectiveness, investigators said.