Can You Write A Note On Chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy is the treatment of infection by substances which destroy or suppress bacteria.  

The sulphonamides were the first group of chemical drugs to be used successfully in the treatment of infections.  They exert their effect by inhibiting the growth of invading bacteria, thus allowing the defence mechanism of the body to overcome susceptible organisms.  Unfortunately the sulphonamides are ineffective against many dangerous bacteria.

The discovery of penicillin represented a major accomplishment in the fight against bacteria, and greatly increases the range of bacteria which can be overcome.  Penicillin is not a chemical drug but is the product of a living mould.  It is called an antibiotic and acts by preventing bacterial cell wall synthesis or by suppressing particular aspects of bacteria cell function such as inhibition and transpeptidase.  Streptomycin was the first agent to be found effective against the tubercle bacillus, while chloramphenicol suppresses the typhoid group of bacteria. The tetracycline antibiotics have further extended the scope of chemotherapy.  

One of the problems following the use of antibiotics is that in some cases bacteria are initially susceptible to a particular antibiotic become resistant to it following repeated exposure.  For example, nowadays staphylococci growths from hospital dust are nearly always resistant to penicillin.