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posted by martyb on Friday November 13 2015, @04:18PM   Printer-friendly
from the poo-pill-prescriptions-provide-partial-protection dept.

In a battle against an infection, antibiotics can bring victory over enemy germs. Yet that war-winning aid can come with significant collateral damage; microbial allies and innocents are killed off, too. Such casualties may be unavoidable in some cases, but a lot of people take antibiotics when they're not necessary or appropriate. And the toll of antibiotics on a healthy microbiome can, in some places, be serious, a new study suggests.

In two randomized, placebo-controlled trials of healthy people, a single course of oral antibiotics altered the composition and diversity of the gut microbiome for months, and in some cases up to a year. Such shifts could clear the way for pathogens, including the deadly Clostridium difficile. Those community changes can also alter microbiome activities, including interacting with the immune system and helping with digestion. Overall, the data, published Tuesday in the journal mBio, suggests that antibiotics may have more side effects than previously thought—at least in the gut.

In the mouth, on the other hand, researchers found that microbial communities fared much better, rebounding in weeks after antibiotic treatments. The finding raises the question of why the oral microbiome is less disturbed by drugs. It could simply be because of the way that antibiotics, taken orally, circulate through the body. Or, it could imply that oral microbiomes are innately more resilient, a quality that would be useful to replicate in microbial communities all over the body.


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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 14 2015, @01:03AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 14 2015, @01:03AM (#262942)

    If your doctor doesn't prescribe antibiotics when you might need them, then you might want to change your doctor.

    Less antibiotic use is a good idea from a public health standpoint but what is best for the public isn't necessarily best for the individual. If you happen to be unlucky, then your infection may progress too quickly for the delayed treatment to catch up.

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  • (Score: 1) by Kawumpa on Monday November 16 2015, @01:35AM

    by Kawumpa (1187) on Monday November 16 2015, @01:35AM (#263816)

    If your doctor doesn't prescribe antibiotics when you might need them, then you might want to change your doctor.

    Less antibiotic use is a good idea from a public health standpoint but what is best for the public isn't necessarily best for the individual. If you happen to be unlucky, then your infection may progress too quickly for the delayed treatment to catch up.

    Errr, no one ever said that a doctor shouldn't prescribe antibiotics when they are needed. Testing for pathogens to allow for targeted treatment is always recommended. Sure, in life threatening circumstances you should be given treatment but the tests still have to be conducted to adapt treatment if necessary in case the initial course was wrong.