Superbugs : the race to stop an epidemic /
Material type: TextPublisher: New York : Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House, [2019]Copyright date: 2019Description: 290 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:- text
- still image
- unmediated
- volume
- 9780735217508
- 0735217505
- 616.9/041 23
- QR177 .M33 2019
- MED106000 | MED014000 | MED039000
Item type | Current library | Home library | Collection | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Standard Loan | Hayden Library Recently Returned | Hayden Library | Book | 616.9/MCCARTH (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 50610021942177 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
International Bestseller
"An amazing, informative book that changes our perspective on medicine, microbes and our future."
--Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies
A New York Times bestselling author shares this exhilarating story of cutting-edge science and the race against the clock to find new treatments in the fight against the antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as superbugs.
Physician, researcher, and ethics professor Matt McCarthy is on the front lines of a groundbreaking clinical trial testing a new antibiotic to fight lethal superbugs, bacteria that have built up resistance to the life-saving drugs in our rapidly dwindling arsenal. This trial serves as the backdrop for the compulsively readable Superbugs , and the results will impact nothing less than the future of humanity.
Dr. McCarthy explores the history of bacteria and antibiotics, from Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin, to obscure sources of innovative new medicines (often found in soil samples), to the cutting-edge DNA manipulation known as CRISPR, bringing to light how we arrived at this juncture of both incredible breakthrough and extreme vulnerability. We also meet the patients whose lives are hanging in the balance, from Remy, a teenager with a dangerous and rare infection, to Donny, a retired New York City firefighter with a compromised immune system, and many more.
The proverbial ticking clock will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Can Dr. McCarthy save the lives of his patients infected with the deadly bacteria, who have otherwise lost all hope?
Includes bibliographical references (pages [260]-278) and index.
A chance observation. The fog of war ; A golden era -- First principles. The lucky grenadier ; Embedded ; Safeguards ; Variables ; Deferment ; Oversight ; Backwater -- The volunteers. Ruth ; George ; Mississippi mud ; Soren ; Duty ; Remy ; A quiet revolution ; Decision points ; Piper ; Garden state ; Trojan horses -- Beneath the surface. The Rockefellers ; Lysin ; Breakthrough ; Anthrax ; Delivery -- Toward a cure. Meghan ; Mantra ; Obstacles ; First ; Alicia ; Persuasion ; The rollout ; Investments ; Into the haystack ; Angry birds ; Macaulay ; Searching ; Anna ; Reversals and rewards ; Help wanted.
"A New York Times bestselling author shares this exhilarating story of cutting-edge science and the race against the clock to find new treatments in the fight against the antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as superbugs. Physician, researcher, and ethics professor Matt McCarthy is on the front lines of a groundbreaking clinical trial testing a new antibiotic to fight lethal superbugs, bacteria that have built up resistance to the life-saving drugs in our rapidly dwindling arsenal. This trial serves as the backdrop for the compulsively readable Superbugs, and the results will impact nothing less than the future of humanity. Dr. McCarthy explores the history of bacteria and antibiotics, from Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin, to obscure sources of innovative new medicines (often found in soil samples), to the cutting-edge DNA manipulation known as CRISPR, bringing to light how we arrived at this juncture of both incredible breakthrough and extreme vulnerability. We also meet the patients whose lives are hanging in the balance, from Remy, a teenager with a dangerous and rare infection, to Donny, a retired New York City firefighter with a compromised immune system, and many more. The proverbial ticking clock will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Can Dr. McCarthy save the lives of his patients infected with the deadly bacteria, who have otherwise lost all hope?"--
"A New York Times bestselling author shares this exhilarating story of cutting-edge science and the race against the clock to find new treatments in the fight against the antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as superbugs"--
Excerpt provided by Syndetics
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Booklist Review
The superbugs of the title are not irritating insects but rather antibiotic-resistant bacteria with often formidable names Enterococcus faecium and methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA) that are becoming increasingly prevalent and more virulent. Physician McCarthy (The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly, 2015) asks, ""Why is it so hard to make a new antibiotic?"" His answers include the difficulty of discovering antibiotics, the exorbitant cost of research and development, and the FDA's lengthy and rigorous approval process. Antibiotics can be created by scientists in the laboratory or found in dirt where they are manufactured by microbes. McCarthy describes his clinical study of a new drug, dalbavancin (dalba), for serious skin infections. He formulates a protocol, enrolls volunteer patients and obtains their informed consent, administers the medication, and schedules follow-up. He recounts how ""painful"" the project was, and declares, ""Defending the defenseless was perilous work."" Fortunately, his sage mentor, Dr. Walsh, helps him out. McCarthy makes it clear that superbugs are one of the gravest threats in modern medicine, with woefully few new antibiotics on the way.--Tony Miksanek Copyright 2019 BooklistKirkus Book Review
A riveting insider's look at the race to find a cure for antibiotic-resistant infections, one of the most pressing challenges in modern medicine.It's official: Bacteria are outsmarting us. Bacterial strains that are impervious to even the most powerful antibiotics, nicknamed "superbugs," are increasingly common and frighteningly lethal. Physicians are often left with their hands tied, forced to see patients die from infections that could have easily been treated 10 years ago. In this eye-opening book, McCarthy (The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly: A Physician's First Year, 2015, etc.)an assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell and a staff physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where he is a member of the ethics committeebreaks down the complex interplay among biomedical researchers, the pharmaceutical industry, the Food and Drug Administration, and clinicians. Unsurprisingly, the most important consideration in this complicated equation is money. Conducting clinical trials to test the efficacy and safety of new antibiotics is expensive, and even when they are approved, the medications may not be hugely profitable for the manufacturer. "A study from the London School of Economics," writes the author, "estimated that, at discovery, the net present value of a new antibiotic was minus $50 million." McCarthy, however, is not deterred, and he agreed to lead a cutting-edge clinical trial involving a brand-new, synthetic antibiotic known as dalba. He pulls no punches as he details the tension between institutional bureaucracy and patient care, often becoming emotional as he describes his patients and their stories. He makes it clear that despite the importance of protocol, there is no time to waste. The author's storytelling is at once urgent and empathetic, a compelling combination that leaves readers feeling informed and optimistic.Insightful and honest, McCarthy effectively combines useful information about the latest advances in microbial research with accounts of the best aspects of humanity. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.Author notes provided by Syndetics
MATT MCCARTHY is the author of two national bestsellers, The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly and Odd Man Out . He is an assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell and a staff physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where he serves on the Ethics Committee. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated , Slate , The New England Journal of Medicine , and Deadspin . He reviews nonfiction for USA Today and is editor-in-chief of Current Fungal Infection Reports .There are no comments on this title.