Cilastatin

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A chemical compound that blocks a kidney enzyme so that certain antibiotics are not broken down before they can work
2. A drug given alongside an antibiotic to prevent its breakdown in the kidneys, thereby keeping the antibiotic active in the body
3. A pharmaceutical agent that inhibits renal dehydropeptidase, protecting co-administered antibiotics from being metabolized too quickly

Etymology: Cilastatin is a modern pharmaceutical coinage, invented to name a drug rather than to describe anything known in earlier times. Its ending, "-statin", comes from the Greek "statikos", meaning "causing to stand", the same root that gave English "static". In drug names the suffix marks a substance that halts an enzyme's activity. The first part, "cila-", has no classical root. It is an invented prefix of the kind pharmaceutical companies use to make drug names distinctive and easy to register. The compound is given alongside the antibiotic imipenem. It blocks a kidney enzyme, dehydropeptidase-I, that would otherwise break down imipenem before it can work.