Antibiotic benefits 'could be boosted 50 times'
Monday, 29 Jan 2007 08:28
Many bacteria are resistant to antibiotics
Science In Focus
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The beneficial effects of antibiotics could be magnified more than 50 times over if administered at the same time as a virus that infects bacteria, it has been claimed.
Bacterio-phages have been shown to boost the effectiveness of antibiotics such as gentamicin, gramacidin and tetracycline in laboratory tests, according to an article in Chemistry and Industry.
Steven Hagens, formerly of the University of Vienna, told the magazine of the Society of Chemical Industry that the phages possessed the ability to move through bacteria cell membranes.
He explains, for example, that the bacteria responsible for pneumonia are "particularly multi-resistant to antibiotics because they have efflux pump mechanisms that enable them to throw out antibiotics".
"A pore in the cell wall would obviously cancel the efflux effect," he adds.
Dr Hagens goes on to say that the technique could be particularly useful for treating food poisoning cases, as lower doses would not disrupt friendly bacteria in the stomach.
Commenting on the research, Jim Spencer, a lecturer in microbial pathogenesis at the University of Bristol, said: "The prospect of using such treatments to prolong the life of existing agents and delay the onset of widespread resistance is to be welcomed."
Over-reliance on antibiotics in western medicine since 1940 has created a host of bacteria wholly resistant to their effects, with hospital superbug MRSA cited as an example in Chemistry and Industry.