A Johns Hopkins Children’s Center-led study in animals suggests that high doses of a widely used antibiotic called rifampin may safely treat and reduce the duration of treatment for the deadliest form of tuberculosis that affects the brain, potentially improving survival rates for patients and decreasing the likelihood of lasting adverse effects of the disease. Additional studies in a small number of people also shed light on how rifampin moves through the body, including into the brain, and how rifampin levels could change during treatments, showing how the research could potentially translate to humans.