Linezolid is a synthetic antibiotic used for the treatment of serious infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria that are resistant to several other antibiotics. A member of the oxazolidinone class of drugs, linezolid is active against most Gram-positive bacteria that cause disease, including streptococci, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The main indications of linezolid are infections of the skin and soft tissues and pneumonia (particularly hospital-acquired pneumonia), although off-label use for a variety of other infections is becoming popular. Discovered in the late 1980s and first approved for use in 2000, linezolid was the first commercially available oxazolidinone antibiotic. As of 2009, it is the only marketed oxazolidinone, although others are in development. As a protein synthesis inhibitor, it stops the growth of bacteria by disrupting their production of proteins. Resistance to linezolid has remained very low since it was first detected in 1999, although it may be increasing. When administered for short periods, linezolid is a relatively safe drug; it can be used in patients of all ages and in people with liver disease or poor kidney function.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linezolid
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
786:
Harun al-Rashid became the Abbasid caliph upon the death of his brother al-Hadi. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harun_al-Rashid
1752:
In adopting the Gregorian calendar under the terms of the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, the British Empire skipped eleven days (September 2 was followed directly by September 14). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar
1812:
The French invasion of Russia: Following the Battle of Borodino seven days earlier, Napoleon and his Grande Armée captured Moscow, only to find the city deserted and burning . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_of_Moscow_%281812%29
1901:
Theodore Roosevelt became President of the United States, the youngest person at the time to do so at age 42, eight days after William McKinley was fatally wounded at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt
1960:
At a conference held in Baghdad, the governments of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela founded OPEC to help unify and coordinate their petroleum policies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPEC
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
grudging (adj): Unwilling or with reluctance http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grudging
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Patriotism is proud of a country’s virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues. The pride of nationalism, however, trumpets its country’s virtues and denies its deficiencies, while it is contemptuous toward the virtues of other countries. It wants to be, and proclaims itself to be, "the greatest," but greatness is not required of a country; only goodness is. --Sydney J. Harris http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sydney_J._Harris