PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Drug alternatives to antibiotics may not be perfect, study shows

2014-01-22
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Catriona Kelly
Catriona.Kelly@ed.ac.uk
44-131-651-4401
University of Edinburgh
Drug alternatives to antibiotics may not be perfect, study shows New types of drug intended for use in place of antibiotics have been given a cautious welcome by scientists.

Researchers have been probing the long-term effectiveness of drugs currently being developed by the pharmaceutical industry. These work by limiting the symptoms caused by a bug or virus in the body, rather than killing it outright.

These treatments are designed to avoid the problem of infections becoming resistant to treatment, which has become widespread with antibiotics.

This approach is intended to enable the patient to tolerate disease, and buy the immune system valuable time to get rid of the infection naturally.

Researchers at the Universities of Edinburgh and Liverpool created a mathematical model to look at how at how drugs that limit the damage caused by disease could affect how infections spread and evolve.

They found that for certain infections, where the symptoms are not linked to the spread of disease, these drugs may prevent disease from evolving too quickly. They will be useful over longer periods of time.

However, scientists caution that people given damage limitation treatments may appear healthy, but carry high levels of infection and so may be more likely to pass on disease. In addition, people with lesser symptoms could remain undiagnosed and add to the spread of disease. Their study was published in PLoS Biology.

Dr Pedro Vale, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Biological Sciences, said: "In treating infections with drugs, we change their environment, but bacteria and other infectious agents are incredibly good at adapting to their environment.

"Damage limitation therapies may be a useful alternative to antibiotics, but we should be cautious, and investigate their potential long-term consequences. Limiting damage may work for the individual, but could, in some cases, increase disease spread."

### END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

From a carpet of nanorods to a thin film solar cell absorber within a few seconds

2014-01-22
From a carpet of nanorods to a thin film solar cell absorber within a few seconds This news release is available in German. Research teams at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and at the University of Limerick, ...

Xpert® MTB/RIF assay for pulmonary tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance in adults

2014-01-22
Xpert® MTB/RIF assay for pulmonary tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance in adults A second systematic review of a diagnostic test for tuberculosis (TB) endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), has confirmed the accuracy of the test. The updated ...

Hearing loss linked to accelerated brain tissue loss

2014-01-22
Hearing loss linked to accelerated brain tissue loss Although the brain becomes smaller with age, the shrinkage seems to be fast-tracked in older adults with hearing loss, according to the results of a study by researchers from Johns Hopkins and the National ...

Lawrence Livermore 'space cops' to help control traffic in space

2014-01-22
Lawrence Livermore 'space cops' to help control traffic in space A team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists are using mini-satellites that work as "space cops" to help control traffic in space. The scientists used a series of six ...

Putting 'Adam' in his rightful place in evolutionary history

2014-01-22
Putting 'Adam' in his rightful place in evolutionary history Our most common male ancestor walked the earth 209,000 years ago – earlier than scientists commonly thought - according to new research from the University of Sheffield. The pioneering study, ...

European epilepsy consortium identifies new gene for severe childhood epilepsy

2014-01-22
European epilepsy consortium identifies new gene for severe childhood epilepsy A novel combination of technologies made this possible A European consortium of epilepsy researchers has reported the discovery of a new gene involved in ...

Particulate air pollution leads to increased heart attack risk

2014-01-22
Particulate air pollution leads to increased heart attack risk The ESCAPE study * investigates the effects of air pollution on health. In eleven participating population groups in Finland, Sweden, ...

Got milk? Evolutionary connection between milk drinking, lactose digestion, and sunlight

2014-01-22
Got milk? Evolutionary connection between milk drinking, lactose digestion, and sunlight This week in Molecular Biology and Evolution Milk, as the popular slogan goes, does a body good. It contains essential nutrients including ...

Elevated blood pressure at home but not in clinic can indicate increased heart attack risk

2014-01-22
Elevated blood pressure at home but not in clinic can indicate increased heart attack risk In an individual patient data meta-analysis of studies published before July 2013, Jan A Staessen and colleagues (University of Leuven, Belgium) found that patients with masked ...

Genetic counseling via telephone as effective as in-person counseling

2014-01-22
Genetic counseling via telephone as effective as in-person counseling WASHINGTON — Genetic counseling delivered over the telephone is as effective as face-to-face counseling, finds the largest randomized study to date comparing the two methods. The multi-center ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New “bone-digesting” cell type discovered in pythons

New study points to Skagerrak as nursery area for the enigmatic Greenland shark

Are sewage spills and coastal winds contributing to airborne microplastics?

Which factors affect the success of popular prescription weight loss drugs in individuals?

Do renter protection policies reduce rental housing discrimination?

Does grading students at earlier ages increase the risk of mental disorders in adolescents?

New artificial intelligence–based test detects early signs of osteoporosis from X-ray images

Can eating a healthy plant-based diet help protect against inflammatory bowel disease?

Do local voting rights affect migrants’ participation in protests?

Mysterious ‘Dark Dwarfs’ may be hiding at the heart of the Milky Way

Real-world data shows teclistamab can benefit many multiple myeloma patients who would have been ineligible for pivotal trial

Scientists reveal how a key inflammatory molecule triggers esophageal muscle contraction

Duration of heat waves accelerating faster than global warming

New mathematical insights into Lagrangian turbulence

Clinical trials reveal promising alternatives to high-toxicity tuberculosis drug

Artificial solar eclipses in space could shed light on Sun

Probing the cosmic Dark Ages from the far side of the Moon

UK hopes to bolster space weather forecasts with Europe's first solar storm monitor

Can one video change a teen's mindset? New study says yes - but there’s a catch

How lakes connect to groundwater critical for resilience to climate change, research finds

Youngest basaltic lunar meteorite fills nearly one billion-year gap in Moon’s volcanic history

Cal Poly Chemistry professor among three U.S. faculty to be honored for contributions to chemistry instruction

Stoichiometric crystal shows promise in quantum memory

Study sheds light on why some prostate tumors are resistant to treatment

Tree pollen reveals 150,000 years of monsoon history—and a warning for Australia’s northern rainfall

Best skin care ingredients revealed in thorough, national review

MicroRNA is awarded an Impact Factor Ranking for 2024

From COVID to cancer, new at-home test spots disease with startling accuracy

Now accepting submissions: Special Collection on Cognitive Aging

Young adult literature is not as young as it used to be

[Press-News.org] Drug alternatives to antibiotics may not be perfect, study shows