{"id":43608,"date":"2025-09-04T17:47:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T17:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/43608\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T17:47:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T17:47:08","slug":"clinical-trial-finds-single-dose-penicillin-effective-against-syphilis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/43608\/","title":{"rendered":"Clinical trial finds single-dose penicillin effective against syphilis"},"content":{"rendered":"

A single dose of penicillin works just as well to cure early syphilis<\/a> as the three-injection regimen now used by many doctors, a new clinical trial says.<\/p>\n

Second and third doses of benzathine penicillin G<\/a> don’t provide any additional benefit in treating early-stage syphilis, researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

“Benzathine penicillin G is highly effective against syphilis, but the three-dose regimen can be burdensome and deter people from attending follow-up visits with their health care providers,” said Carolyn Deal<\/a>, chief of the enteric and sexually transmitted infections branch of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.<\/p>\n

“The new findings offer welcome evidence for potentially simplifying treatment with an equally effective one-dose regimen, particularly while syphilis rates remain alarmingly high,” Deal said in a news release. She was not involved in the research, which NIAID funded.\n<\/p>\n

Syphilis continues to be a health threat for sexually active Americans, researchers said in background notes. In 2023, the nation saw more than 209,000 syphilis cases, up 61% from 2019 levels.<\/p>\n

Without treatment, syphilis can cause brain damage, organ failure, pregnancy complications and birth defects, researchers said. The bacterial infection also increases a person’s likelihood of acquiring or transmitting HIV<\/a>.<\/p>\n

BPG is one of the few antibiotics known to be effective against syphilis. It’s imported into the U.S. now to resolve a nationwide shortage, researchers noted.<\/p>\n

For the new study, 249 people with early syphilis were recruited at 10 U.S. medical centers, nearly all men and 61% living with HIV.<\/p>\n

Participants were randomly chosen to receive either one shot of BPG or the three-dose series at weekly intervals.<\/p>\n

About 76% of people in the single-dose group responded to the penicillin, based on blood tests, compared to 70% of those in the three-dose group. Overall, the difference between the groups was not statistically significant, researchers said.<\/p>\n

“Syphilis has been studied and treated for more than a century, and BPG has been in use for more than 50 years, yet we are still acquiring knowledge to help us optimize treatment,” said lead researcher Dr. Edward Hook III,<\/a> an emeritus professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.\n<\/p>\n

“We hope these promising results will be complemented by scientific advances in syphilis prevention and diagnosis,” he added in a news release.<\/p>\n

Limiting syphilis treatment to a single dose could help prevent the bacteria from developing antibiotic resistance, researchers said, as well as helping limit the impact of drug shortages.<\/p>\n

“During our trial, as on several occasions over the past several decades, benzathine penicillin G was in short supply in the United States,” researchers wrote in their paper.<\/p>\n

“This shortage led public health authorities to prioritize which patients receive benzathine penicillin G and which should be treated with alternative therapies,” researchers wrote. “Global shortages of benzathine penicillin G are also common and undermine syphilis-control efforts in many countries.”<\/p>\n

Although the trial provides evidence that a single dose of BPG is as effective as three doses, more research is needed to fully understand the potential of a shorter treatment strategy, researchers noted.<\/p>\n

It’s also not clear whether a one-dose approach would work in people with late-stage syphilis or syphilis that has already invaded the nervous system, researchers added.<\/p>\n

More information<\/b><\/p>\n

Yale Medicine has more on syphilis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

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