Waverunner
Senior Member
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According to this study it could be very beneficial to eat sugar high foods while taking AB's. The sugar seems to activate bacteria. When no sugar is present some bacteria find a way to go into sleep/hide mode and will not be cleared by AB's. A short time after the AB's are stopped they will awaken again and do damage. But when they feed on sugar and activate themselves the AB's can target them and clear them completely.
ScienceDaily (May 12, 2011) James Collins, a pioneering researcher
in the new field of systems biology and a MacArthur Genius, says: "You
know the old saying: 'a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down?'
This is more like 'a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine work.'
Dr. Collins, a professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston
University who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator
and a core faculty member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically
Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, is talking about his
recent development of an effective, low-cost -- and surprising -- way
to treat chronic bacterial infections, such as staph, strep,
tuberculosis, and infections of the urinary tract.
He and his team of scientists discovered that a simple compound --
sugar -- dramatically boosts the effectiveness of first-line
antibiotics. Their findings appear in the May 12 issue of Nature
(online May 11th).
The Boston University researchers discovered that a simple compound --
sugar -- dramatically boosts the effectiveness of first-line
antibiotics. Their findings appear in the May 12 issue of Nature.
Dr. Collins, 45, who is also a founder of the new field of synthetic
biology, has a personal interest in this research. His 71 year old
mother, Eileen Collins, was hospitalized several times in recent years
with recurrent bouts of a serious staph infection. Doctors treated her
with multiple intravenous antibiotics and still the infection could
not be killed. It was his mother's suffering that added urgency to Dr.
Collins' research. (While Mrs. Collins is not symptomatic at the
moment, she is still on antibiotics).
In addition, his own undergraduate track career at the College of the
Holy Cross years ago was cut short by a persistent staph infection.
Despite repeated doses of erythromycin, the infection continued to sap
his energy and he was unable to compete in his event -- the mile --
during his junior and senior years.
Chronic and recurrent infections are typically caused by bacterial
'persisters' -- a small subpopulation of bacteria that manage to
survive an antibiotic onslaught by essentially shutting down and
metabolically going into hibernation.
As a result, the patient initially appears to be fully recovered, but
over the course of weeks or months, the persisters return to life,
often stronger and more aggressive than ever before, and the patient
relapses.
Bacterial persistence is a major obstacle in the successful treatment
of infectious diseases. It can stretch illnesses out over months,
cause infections to spread to kidneys and other organs, and send
treatment costs soaring. Given its adverse clinical and public health
impact, bacterial persistence has become a growing area of research.
Yet to date, no treatment directly targets bacterial persisters.
Unlike antibiotic-resistant bacteria, whose ability to withstand drug
treatments is based on genetic mutations fostered by exposure to drug
treatment, persisters are genetically identical to the other members
of their bacterial community. What separates them from the pack is
their ability to switch into power-save mode.
Dr. Collins' research team has now discovered an inexpensive and
effective way to rouse these bacterial sleepers, using a simple weapon
-- sugar -- to stimulate them into an active state in which they are
just as vulnerable to antibiotics as the others in their community.
Dr. Collins' approach consists of adding sugar to the antibiotic. The
sugar acts as a stimulant, essentially turning on normal bacterial
responses, such as dying when confronted by a killer antibiotic.
Using this strategy on E. coli bacteria, a common cause of urinary
tract infections, the team was able to eliminate 99.9 per cent of the
persisters within just two hours -- compared to no effect without
sugar. The approach was similarly effective in killing Staphylococcus
aureus bacteria, which cause sometimes deadly staph infections.
"Our goal was to improve the effectiveness of existing antibiotics,
rather than invent new ones, which can be a long and costly process,"
says Collins' Boston University colleague, Kyle Allison, who was the
first author on the study.
The findings have the potential to improve the lives of untold numbers
of people who struggle with nagging infections, while also reducing
healthcare costs substantially.
The most significant impact of this research could be on TB, a chronic
bacterial infection that affects the lungs and causes more deaths than
any other infections disease. The World Health Organization reports
that approximately 4,700 people die from TB every day. An initial
course of treatment typically takes five to nine months. Collins and
Allison will next investigate whether sugar additives can improve the
efficacy of TB drugs.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110511134215.htm
ScienceDaily (May 12, 2011) James Collins, a pioneering researcher
in the new field of systems biology and a MacArthur Genius, says: "You
know the old saying: 'a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down?'
This is more like 'a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine work.'
Dr. Collins, a professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston
University who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator
and a core faculty member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically
Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, is talking about his
recent development of an effective, low-cost -- and surprising -- way
to treat chronic bacterial infections, such as staph, strep,
tuberculosis, and infections of the urinary tract.
He and his team of scientists discovered that a simple compound --
sugar -- dramatically boosts the effectiveness of first-line
antibiotics. Their findings appear in the May 12 issue of Nature
(online May 11th).
The Boston University researchers discovered that a simple compound --
sugar -- dramatically boosts the effectiveness of first-line
antibiotics. Their findings appear in the May 12 issue of Nature.
Dr. Collins, 45, who is also a founder of the new field of synthetic
biology, has a personal interest in this research. His 71 year old
mother, Eileen Collins, was hospitalized several times in recent years
with recurrent bouts of a serious staph infection. Doctors treated her
with multiple intravenous antibiotics and still the infection could
not be killed. It was his mother's suffering that added urgency to Dr.
Collins' research. (While Mrs. Collins is not symptomatic at the
moment, she is still on antibiotics).
In addition, his own undergraduate track career at the College of the
Holy Cross years ago was cut short by a persistent staph infection.
Despite repeated doses of erythromycin, the infection continued to sap
his energy and he was unable to compete in his event -- the mile --
during his junior and senior years.
Chronic and recurrent infections are typically caused by bacterial
'persisters' -- a small subpopulation of bacteria that manage to
survive an antibiotic onslaught by essentially shutting down and
metabolically going into hibernation.
As a result, the patient initially appears to be fully recovered, but
over the course of weeks or months, the persisters return to life,
often stronger and more aggressive than ever before, and the patient
relapses.
Bacterial persistence is a major obstacle in the successful treatment
of infectious diseases. It can stretch illnesses out over months,
cause infections to spread to kidneys and other organs, and send
treatment costs soaring. Given its adverse clinical and public health
impact, bacterial persistence has become a growing area of research.
Yet to date, no treatment directly targets bacterial persisters.
Unlike antibiotic-resistant bacteria, whose ability to withstand drug
treatments is based on genetic mutations fostered by exposure to drug
treatment, persisters are genetically identical to the other members
of their bacterial community. What separates them from the pack is
their ability to switch into power-save mode.
Dr. Collins' research team has now discovered an inexpensive and
effective way to rouse these bacterial sleepers, using a simple weapon
-- sugar -- to stimulate them into an active state in which they are
just as vulnerable to antibiotics as the others in their community.
Dr. Collins' approach consists of adding sugar to the antibiotic. The
sugar acts as a stimulant, essentially turning on normal bacterial
responses, such as dying when confronted by a killer antibiotic.
Using this strategy on E. coli bacteria, a common cause of urinary
tract infections, the team was able to eliminate 99.9 per cent of the
persisters within just two hours -- compared to no effect without
sugar. The approach was similarly effective in killing Staphylococcus
aureus bacteria, which cause sometimes deadly staph infections.
"Our goal was to improve the effectiveness of existing antibiotics,
rather than invent new ones, which can be a long and costly process,"
says Collins' Boston University colleague, Kyle Allison, who was the
first author on the study.
The findings have the potential to improve the lives of untold numbers
of people who struggle with nagging infections, while also reducing
healthcare costs substantially.
The most significant impact of this research could be on TB, a chronic
bacterial infection that affects the lungs and causes more deaths than
any other infections disease. The World Health Organization reports
that approximately 4,700 people die from TB every day. An initial
course of treatment typically takes five to nine months. Collins and
Allison will next investigate whether sugar additives can improve the
efficacy of TB drugs.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110511134215.htm