A newly identified enzyme, Cpl-1, has been reported to successfully treat symptoms of bacterial meningitis in mice trials.

Working with colleagues from the Institute for Infectious Diseases in Bern, Switzerland, Fischetti found that young mice infected with S. pneumoniae and then treated 18 hours later, once symptoms began, survived the potentially deadly infection. Moreover, Cpl-1 destroyed all traces of the most resistant and virulent strains of S. pneumoniae. In a test tube, this eradication took seconds; in the animal, it took a mere four hours and without collateral damage, suggesting that in mice, Cpl-1 is both a selective and safe treatment for drug-resistant bacterial meningitis.

The study has been published in the June issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases.