Scientists at the University of Bern recently developed a new potential alternative to antibiotics in treating bacterial infections.
A research paper based on these findings was published November 2 in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
While antibiotics are currently the most effective known way to treat severe bacterial infections, the drug landscape is changing. Antibiotics no longer have the same strength as they did when they were first discovered in the early 20th century, due to overuse of antibiotics.
Things like treating livestock with antibiotics and use of antibiotics to treat mild bacterial infections or to treat inappropriate illnesses, like the common cold, have caused an increase in the amount of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.
Eduard Babiychuk and Annette Draeger, two researchers at the University of Bern in Switzerland, have developed a new substance that may be useful as an alternate to antibiotics. They created artificial nanoparticles made of lipids that they call liposomes, which can neutralize the bacteria's toxins, removing the bacteria's defense and allowing the infected person's immune system to eradicate the bacteria naturally. Liposomes are sometimes used as a way to administer drugs or nutrition to humans in an unobtrusive way.
"We have made an irresistible bait for bacterial toxins. The toxins are fatally attracted to the liposomes, and once they are attached, they can be eliminated easily without danger for the host cells", said Babiychuk.
A test of this substance was recently done in mice, and was successful. The mice that were treated with this substance survived a septicemia infection, which is usually fatal.
If this new treatment is successful in humans, it could save thousands of lives a year. Every year, the CDC estimates that 2 million people become sick from antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and of these, around 23,000 die every year. The CDC estimates that up to half of antibiotic use in humans and animals is unnecessary. The Natural Resources Defense Council has a campaign against overuse of antibiotics. Up to 80 percent of antibiotics sold are used to treat livestock, not humans. You can make a statement against this practice by avoiding buying meat, or by only buying meat labeled "No Antibiotics Administered" with an additional "USDA Process Verified" label.
