Editing Peptoid (section)

=== Antimicrobial agents ===
Researchers supported by grants from the [[National Institutes of Health|NIH]] and [[National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases|NIAID]] tested the efficacy of antimicrobial peptoids against antibiotic-resistant strands of ''[[Mycobacterium tuberculosis]]''.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kapoor R, Eimerman PR, Hardy JW, Cirillo JD, Contag CH, Barron AE | title = Efficacy of antimicrobial peptoids against Mycobacterium tuberculosis | journal = Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy | volume = 55 | issue = 6 | pages = 3058–3062 | date = June 2011 | pmid = 21464254 | pmc = 3101442 | doi = 10.1128/AAC.01667-10 }}</ref> Antimicrobial peptoids demonstrate a non-specific mechanism of action against the bacterial membrane, one that differs from small-molecule antibiotics that bind to specific receptors (and thus are susceptible to mutations or alterations in bacterial structure). Preliminary results suggested "appreciable activity" against drug-sensitive bacterial strands, leading to a call for more research into the viability of peptoids as a new class of tuberculocidal drugs.<ref name=":0" />

Researchers at the Barron Lab at Stanford University (supported by a [[National Institutes of Health|NIH]] Pioneer Award grant) are currently studying whether upregulation of the human host defense peptide LL-37 or application of antimicrobial treatments based on LL-37 may prevent or treat sporadic Alzheimer’s dementia. Lead researcher Annelise Barron discovered that the innate human defense peptide LL-37 binds to the peptide Ab, which is associated with Alzheimer's disease. Barron's insight is that an imbalance between LL-37 and Ab may be a critical factor affecting AD-associated fibrils and plaques. The project extends focus upon the potential relationship between chronic, oral ''[[P. gingivalis]]'' and herpesvirus (HSV-1) infections to the progression of Alzheimer's dementia.