Cystic fibrosis is the most common lung affecting genetic disease, which often turns out to be life-threatening. Nearly one in every 2500 to 3500 people are diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at an early age. A thick mucus formation in the lungs becomes stuck to bacteria, which leads to a slimy biofilm formation.

A team of scientists from Michigan State University has found that a combination of common antibacterial substance named triclosan in toothpaste with an already FDA approved drug named tobramycin can effectively act against cystic fibrosis. This combinational agent effectively kills the cells which protect the causative agent named Pseudomonas aeruginosa up to 99.9 percent.

Chris Waters, the senior author of the study said, "The problem that we're really tackling is finding ways to kill these biofilms”.

Alessandra Hunt, the co-author of this study said, "It's well known that triclosan, when used by itself, isn't effective at killing Pseudomonas aeruginosa; But when I saw it listed as a possible compound to use with tobramycin, I was intrigued. We found triclosan was the one that worked every time."

Michael Maiden, another co-author of this research work said, "Limiting its use is the right thing to do; The key is to avoid creating resistance to a substance so when it's found in numerous products, the chances of that happening increase."

Though tobramycin was used widely to treat cystic fibrosis, it was not that effective. Ultimately, the patients were forced to opt for lung transplantation. The increased usage of tobramycin led to severe side effects such as hearing loss and kidney toxicity.

Alessandra Hunt further added, "Our triclosan finding gives doctors another potential option and allows them to use significantly less of the tobramycin in treatment, potentially reducing its use by 100 times; We're working to get this potential therapy approved so we can provide a new treatment option for CF patients, as well as treat other biofilm infections that are now untreatable. We think this can save lives."