What did Paul Ehrlich do for chemotherapy?
Ehrlich’s chemotherapy research led to his formulating the arsenic compound, Salvarsan, which was used in the treatment of syphilis during the first half of this century until it was superseded by penicillin.
Is Arsphenamine still used?
Uses. In the past, arsenic compounds have been used as medicines, including arsphenamine and neosalvasan which were indicated for syphilis and trypanosomiasis but have now been supplanted by modern antibiotics.
What was Arsphenamine used for?
History of Microbiology His search for such compounds led to the discovery of several drugs useful in the treatment of protozoal and spirochetal diseases between 1905 and 1915. The arsenical compound, arsphenamine (salvarsan, compound 606), was used to treat syphilis until the advent of penicillin.
What did Salvarsan 606 cure?
Arsphenamine, also known as Salvarsan or compound 606, is a drug that was introduced at the beginning of the 1910s as the first effective treatment for syphilis and African trypanosomiasis. This organoarsenic compound was the first modern antimicrobial agent.
Who is called Father of chemotherapy?
Paul Ehrlich
Paul Ehrlich: Nobel laureate and father of modern chemotherapy.
Why is magic bullet effective?
From Behring’s work, Ehrlich understood that antibodies produced in the blood could attack invading pathogens without any harmful effect on the body. He speculated that these antibodies act as bullets fired from a gun to target specific microbes.
What did Ehrlich and Hata realize when they discovered Arsphenamine?
When he tested compound No. 606, Hata observed that it had truly notable curative properties against syphilis. Ehrlich had just discovered the magic bullet he had so intently been seeking: arsphenamine.
Is Salvarsan a sulfa drug?
Salvarsan is not a sulfa drug as it does not contain sulfonamide functional groups.
Why is Salvarsan no longer used?
Doctors and nurses found handling the drug difficult: the powder was unstable in air and needed careful preparation before being injected into patients. In the 1940s, with the growing availability of antibiotics, Salvarsan was abandoned for more effective and easier-to-handle drugs.
Is Salvarsan toxic to humans?
Salvarsan had its most marked toxic effect on patients already suffering from meningitis or even alcohol poisoning, which was deemed to have ‘weakened the tissues’. Another issue relating to the patients under evaluation was the development of concurrent conditions such as Herpes genitalis or chest infections.
Who was the first person to receive chemotherapy?
Babe Ruth was one of the first cancer patients to receive a combination of chemotherapy and radiation, a practice that doctors still use today.
What did Alexander Fleming do?
Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming is best known for his discovery of penicillin in 1928, which started the antibiotic revolution. For his discovery of penicillin, he was awarded a share of the 1945 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
Is trypan red prophylactic or curative?
Trypan Red proved to be both curative and prophylactic for T. equinum infections in mice [ 11] but not for infections with other trypanosome species [ 12 ]. Ehrlich investigated another 50 derivatives of Trypan Red and the 7-amino derivative of the compound was tested by the German physician Robert Koch during an expedition in 1906 [ 9 ].
How effective is trypan blue in the treatment of trypanosomes?
One blue benzopurpurine derivative, Trypan Blue (Fig. 1 ), was found to be very effective in eliminating all trypanosomes from the blood of infected animals [ 13, 14] but as the drug stained the skin of the animals bluish it was unacceptable for use in patients [ 9, 10 ].
Is the 7-amino derivative of trypan red more effective than the compound itself?
Ehrlich investigated another 50 derivatives of Trypan Red and the 7-amino derivative of the compound was tested by the German physician Robert Koch during an expedition in 1906 [ 9 ]. However, the 7-amino derivative was not more effective than Trypan Red itself.
When was trypanosome first used as a drug?
Together with his postdoc, Shiga, he chose African trypanosomes as a target and trypan red as the drug, and soon established proof of principle in 1904. He also noted the first example of the emergence of resistance to chemotherapy.