Johns Hopkins researchers report success with a smart phone video-based app that substitutes for a daily in-person visit by a health care worker required for tuberculosis treatment known as directly observed therapy, or DOT. The preliminary study showed that the app may be less costly and may improve privacy concerns raised by patients compared to in-person visits.

In a study using mice, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine infectious disease experts have added to evidence that statin drugs — known primarily for their cholesterol-lowering effects — can significantly reduce the time it takes to clear tuberculosis infection.

While an effective treatment is available for combating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, it carries serious side effects for patients. New research conducted at the Center for Tuberculosis Research at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine shows that lower doses of the toxic drug bedaquiline — given together with verapamil, a medication that’s used to treat various heart conditions — can lead to the same antibacterial effects as higher toxic doses of bedaquiline. The combination of the two drugs could potentially shorten treatment time, reduce the side effects of bedaquiline and improve patient outcomes for those suffering from TB.

A team of Johns Hopkins researchers working with animals has developed a vaccine that prevents the virulent tuberculosis bacterium from invading the brain and causing a highly lethal condition known as TB meningitis, a disease that disproportionately occurs in TB-infected children and in adults with compromised immune systems.