Origins of Resistance to Toxic Agents contains the proceedings of the Symposium held in Washington, D.C. on March 25-27, 1954. Contributors theoretically explore the origins of drug resistance and related problems, based on the concept that the development of resistance to various toxic agents is associated with alterations and/or loss in enzyme proteins, and can explain the mutational and other processes. This text is organized into five sections encompassing 25 chapters and begins with an overview of the evolutionary aspects of resistance to antibacterial agents, herbicides, and insecticides. The book then discusses spontaneous and induced mutations to drug resistance in Escherichia coli, along with the mechanism of drug resistance in protozoa and bacteria, the physiological aspects of insect resistance to insecticides, and the enzymatic detoxication of DDT. The next chapters focus on the origins of tolerance and addiction to drugs and the problem of alcoholism; biochemical effects of narcotics and alcohol administration; tolerance and physical dependence to narcotics; and resistance and dependence in cancer cells. The book concludes by analyzing the significance of protein configuration to the specificity of biological interaction. This book is a valuable source of information for physicians, biochemists, pharmacologists, entomologists, plant physiologists, students of cancer, and those who are interested in the theory of the evolution of living matter.

The two volumes included in Antimicrobial Drug Resistance, Second Edition is an updated, comprehensive and multidisciplinary reference covering the area of antimicrobial drug resistance in bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites from basic science, clinical, and epidemiological perspectives. This newly revised compendium reviews the most current research and development on drug resistance while still providing the information in the accessible format of the first edition. The first volume, Antimicrobial Drug Resistance: Mechanisms of Drug Resistance, is dedicated to the biological basis of drug resistance and effective avenues for drug development. With the emergence of more drug-resistant organisms, the approach to dealing with the drug resistance problem must include the research of different aspects of the mechanisms of bacterial resistance and the dissemination of resistance genes as well as research utilizing new genomic information. These approaches will permit the design of novel strategies to develop new antibiotics and preserve the effectiveness of those currently available. The second volume, Antimicrobial Drug Resistance: Clinical and Epidemiological Aspects, is devoted to the clinical aspects of drug resistance. Although there is evidence that restricted use of a specific antibiotic can be followed by a decrease in drug resistance to that agent, drug resistance control is not easily achieved. Thus, the infectious diseases physician requires input from the clinical microbiologist, antimicrobial stewardship personnel, and infection control specialist to make informed choices for the effective management of various strains of drug-resistant pathogens in individual patients. This 2-volume set is an important reference for students in microbiology, infectious diseases physicians, medical students, basic scientists, drug development researchers, microbiologists, epidemiologists, and public health practitioners.

Antibiotics represent one of the most successful forms of therapy in medicine. But the efficiency of antibiotics is compromised by the growing number of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Antibiotic resistance, which is implicated in elevated morbidity and mortality rates as well as in the increased treatment costs, is considered to be one of the major global public health threats (www.who.int/drugresistance/en/) and the magnitude of the problem recently prompted a number of international and national bodies to take actions to protect the public (http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/docs/road-map-amr_en.pdf: http://www.who.int/drugresistance/amr_global_action_plan/en/; http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/carb_national_strategy.pdf). Understanding the mechanisms by which bacteria successfully defend themselves against the antibiotic assault represent the main theme of this eBook published as a Research Topic in Frontiers in Microbiology, section of Antimicrobials, Resistance, and Chemotherapy. The articles in the eBook update the reader on various aspects and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. A better understanding of these mechanisms should facilitate the development of means to potentiate the efficacy and increase the lifespan of antibiotics while minimizing the emergence of antibiotic resistance among pathogens.

Pyrrhic Progress analyses over half a century of antibiotic use, regulation, and resistance in US and British food production. Mass-introduced after 1945, antibiotics helped revolutionize post-war agriculture. Food producers used antibiotics to prevent and treat disease, protect plants, preserve food, and promote animals' growth. Many soon became dependent on routine antibiotic use to sustain and increase production. The resulting growth of antibiotic infrastructures came at a price. Critics blamed antibiotics for leaving dangerous residues in food, enabling bad animal welfare, and selecting for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria, which could no longer be treated with antibiotics. Pyrrhic Progress reconstructs the complicated negotiations that accompanied this process of risk prioritization between consumers, farmers, and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. Unsurprisingly, solutions differed: while Europeans implemented precautionary antibiotic restrictions to curb AMR, consumer concerns and cost-benefit assessments made US regulators focus on curbing drug residues in food. The result was a growing divergence of antibiotic stewardship and a rise of AMR. Kirchhelle's comprehensive analysis of evolving non-human antibiotic use and the historical complexities of antibiotic stewardship provides important insights for current debates on the global burden of AMR.

This comprehensive treatise offers an in-depth discussion of natural toxicants in plants, emphasizing their effects as defenses against herbivory. Coevolution of plants and her-bivores are covered with a detailed treatment of toxicant metabolism and systemic effects in mammalian tissues. Con-sideration of the economic importance of plant toxins, modi-fication by plant breeding, management of toxico-sis, and toxicant problems in various geographic areas are in-cluded. Each volume offers an extensive description of chemistry, biosynthesis, analysis, distribution in plants, metabolism in mam-mals and insects, and practical problems in humans and livestock.