By Rita Ha and Bradley Langford It has been estimated that up to 50 per cent of prescribed antibiotics in long-term care homes (LTCH) are not needed. Overuse of antibiotics, particularly in older adults, has been associated with an increased risk of harm. These harms include increased risk of side effects, Clostridium difficile infection (CDI),...
Tag: <span>antibiotics</span>
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We may not need to rely on antibiotics to treat UTIs
Doctors tend to prescribe antibiotics to treat common bacterial infections, such as those of the urinary tract. However, a new study shows that there may be a new strategy to reduce or potentially even eliminate the need for using antibiotics. The new findings were recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences....
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Study: Antibiotics destroy immune cells and worsen oral infection
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY New research shows that the body’s own microbes are effective in maintaining immune cells and killing certain oral infections. A team of Case Western Reserve University researchers found that antibiotics actually kill the “good” bacteria keeping infection and inflammation at bay. Scientists have long known that overuse of antibiotics can do...
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There’s A New Antibiotic In Town, And We Can Create It In The Lab
A PROMISING DISCOVERY. Bacteria are shifty little things. We isolate antibiotics to kill them, and they evolve to dodge the attack. This is called antibiotic resistance, and it’s gotten so bad the United Nations (UN) actually declared it a crisis back in September 2016. Now, a team of Chinese researchers think they’ve found a new weapon against antibiotic...
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New antibiotic candidates were inside us all along
With bacteria rapidly evolving resistance to our best antibiotics, scientists are searching high and low for new ones. In recent years promising drug candidates have turned up in some unexpected places, like rattlesnake venom, platypus milk, and tobacco flowers – and now, already inside the human body. Researchers from MIT and the University of Naples Federico II have found that a potent peptide...
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Failed antibiotics team up to defeat superbugs
Forget killer robots or zombies – the most plausible doomsday scenario in the next few decades is the so-called superbug, as infectious bacteria become increasingly resistant to our best antibiotics. Now, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have found that combining two antibiotics that no longer work can create a treatment that’s once...
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Scientists find that common dietary elements cure lethal infections, eliminating the need for antibiotics
Antibiotic use is driving an epidemic of antibiotic resistance, as more susceptible bacteria are killed but more resilient strains live on and multiply with abandon. But if antibiotics aren’t the end-all solution for infectious disease, what is? Salk scientists find that common dietary elements cure lethal infections, eliminating the need for antibiotics. From left: (front)...
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Depleting microbiome with antibiotics can affect glucose metabolism
A new study from the Salk Institute has found that mice that have their microbiomes depleted with antibiotics have decreased levels of glucose in their blood and better insulin sensitivity. The research has implications for understanding the role of the microbiome in diabetes. It also could lead to better insight into the side effects seen in people...
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New Study Shows Antibiotics Could Be Replaced With Viruses
Antibiotics have changed the world since their invention in the early 20th century, but their usefulness might be coming to an end. Bacteria are evolving resistances to most antibiotics, making these increasingly useless for fighting diseases. A new study gives hope that scientists can find an effective replacement for antibiotics: viruses. We often think of viruses as deadly...
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Chip Pairs Bacteria with Antibiotics to Spot Drug Resistance, Points to Best Therapy
Patients presenting with a bacterial infection can be surprisingly challenging to treat if drug resistance is present and/or if sepsis develops. Using the right antibiotic as early as possible, and identifying if the infection is resistant to the drugs, can often make the difference between life and death. Yet, the time it takes currently to...