A major breakthrough in the treatment of infections on prostheses
ldri | Bruxelles Woluwe
Researchers at UCLouvain, including the team of Françoise Van Bambeke (LDRI), have developed a new therapeutic strategy that directly targets the bacterial biofilms responsible for infections on orthopedic prostheses. In an experimental model, this new approach resulted in an average reduction of 99.9999% in bacterial load on infected implants , which was even below the detection threshold in 75% of cases: a level of efficacy rarely observed in scientific literature. This breakthrough opens up significant prospects for improving the management of prosthetic infections, while limiting the use of heavy and invasive treatments.
The new therapeutic strategy developed aimed at directly targeting biofilm, based on the novel combination of an enzyme cocktail and an antibiotic integrated into a hydrogel for local application. ‘There are two main innovations in this strategy’, explains Françoise Van Bambeke, professor of pharmacology at the faculty of pharmacy and biomedical sciences and FNRS research director at the Louvain Drug Research Institute: ’ the hydrogel formulation allows local retention of the active agents at the site of infection, and the enzymes digest the biofilm matrix, thus facilitating access and action of the antibiotic present in very high concentration, which can then eliminate the bacteria.’
The success of this work has been made possible thanks to the close collaboration between two teams of researchers, the group of Françoise Van Bambeke at the Louvain Drug Research Institute and the group of Olivier Cornu, at the Institute for Experimental and Clinical Research, also active at the Saint-Luc University hospital. The contribution of Rita Vanbever, FNRS research director at the Louvain Drug Research Institute, who characterized the rheological properties of the hydrogel , is also acknowledged.