Rick <fleisc…@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com> wrote:
>What do you think of AZITHROMYCIN (alias Zithromax or the Z-Pak(tm))?

It’s an expensive form of erythromycin, with a broader antibacterial
spectrum, a longer 1/2 life, and purportedly better tissue penetration.
It probably has some limited utility in specialized cases, but not
in the great majority of situations which are better served by less
expensive antibiotics.

>From what I understand, it remains inside the white blood cells, thereby
>assisting their attacks against bacteria.  (It is an anti-biotic.)  A
>5 day regimin continues fighting bacteria for an additional 9 days, while
>the AZITHROMYCIN continues seeping out of the white blood cells.

Well, that’s what the ads would have their target market (doctors)
believe.  Whether this is clinically important for most individuals
who aren’t severely ill or who don’t have infections by intracellular
pathogens like mycobacteria, I’m not sure.  I tend to doubt it.

>Are there any long term studies of the effects of Azithromycin on the
>body’s immune system?  In other words, do the white blood cells
>"like" having Azithromycin inside?  Does Azithromycin interract with
>any other chemicals or systems within the white blood cell?

Pharmaceutical firms attempt to exploit differences between the toxicity
of an antibiotic to pathogens and mammalian cells.  Macrolide anti-
biotics like erythromycin seem to bind preferentially to ribosomes
in susceptible organisms, sparing most mammalian systems (or enough
that such drugs are not outrageously toxic.)  I think you have an
interesting question, and I haven’t read any research on this.
However, white blood cells are being produced constantly, and once
you’ve stopped the antibiotic, the amount absorbed by white blood cells
would probably fall as the level of antibiotic in your body falls.

>How well studied is Azithromycin?  How long has it been in use?

It’s a fairly new drug, developed in the last decade; it’s only been in
use in the US in the past year or so.
—
Steve Dyer
d…@ursa-major.spdcc.com