An alternative to antibiotics?

I blogged a month or so ago about the worldwide danger of rising antibiotic resistance - can you imagine going to the doctor with a bacterial infection and not having any feasible medications available? A very scary scenario! Recently, researchers from a Swiss biotech startup published a paper in Nature Biotechnology about a potential new strategy in fighting bacteria, all without using antibiotics. Score one for science! The key to this solution is the creation and injection of liposomes, which is a collection of lipids that closely mimics a cell membrane. These liposomes are engineered to "soak up" the toxins released by bacteria, which are primarily used to combat your immune system. Once these toxins are out of the way, your immune system can sweep up the remaining infection!

Figure 1: An example of a liposome!

Of course, this assumes that your immune system isn't compromised in any way. As many physicians have pointed out, it's likely that this technology won't completely replace antibiotics, but they may be used in conjunction. For example, administering these liposomes to patients who are suffering from system shock due to toxin overload, but require a fair amount of time for the full identification of the bacteria. These liposomes could buy them precious time!

Perhaps the greatest benefit for this therapy may lie in its ability to provide us with an alternate mechanism to antibiotics. Remember, the enemy is great in number but our arsenal is limited! Don't fire 'til you see the peptidoglycans of their cell walls!

Antibiotics, a most powerful double-edged sword

When we are sick, our first instinct is normally to reach for the closest pill or to pay a visit to our local pharmacy. In an age and culture where we expect immediate gratification, it is very tempting to find the solutions to all of our medical problems in a convenient little drug. Now before I discuss the main topic of this post, I am in no way endorsing forgoing medication. Modern medicine is a wondrous thing, and we have been extraordinarily successful at creating longer and happier lives via pharmaceuticals. That being said, the use of antibiotics is something that deserves some extra special attention! But first: what is an antibiotic?

Figure 1. Microorganisms. Many are good, some are bad!

An antibiotic is defined as an agent that either kills or inhibits the growth of a microorganism. Common antibiotics include penicillin and tetracycline and can operate in wide variety of ways. Some antibiotics kill bacteria by degrading their cell wall, while some interfere with the bacteria's key enzymes. The discovery of the first antibiotic is a very interesting story which I will spotlight in a later post!

These antibiotics are normally pretty effective at wiping out an infection. Most people after taking their first pill feel pretty great after 5-7 days. Super effective!

As powerful as these pills are, bacteria are very crafty little critters. As soon as one bacterium (out of millions of other little guys) develops a resistance to a drug, they are able to pass on this resistance to their fellow bacteria. Pretty soon, you've got a population that laughs in the face of the drug you just took.

Figure 2. Simba is ambitious, so are microbes!

Well, why can't we just use a different antibiotic when one becomes resistant? While this is a plausible solution, there are only a finite number of antibiotics currently in existence. If we have bacteria that are resistant to all of these, we're toast! So needless to say, it's in our best interest to limit the rise of these so called "superbugs". Here are three ways in which you can help make sure this happens:

1. Finish your course of antibiotics!

When you are prescribed antibiotics by your physician, you are given a series of pills which you must take on a regular basis. Many people feel fine after a few days of medication, so they stop taking the pills. This is would be a critical error, as you may leave small populations of bacteria left in your system who now have a chance to acquire immunity. Don't give them a fighting chance! Is taking four more pills really that much of a hassle?

2. Know that not everything can be cured by an antibiotic!

As I mentioned earlier, we are often very quick to turn to the cure that works the fastest. Remember that many things that make us ill are caused by viruses, and will not be affected in any way by antibiotic treatment. Below is a wonderful table from the Mayo Clinic that summarizes some differences between diseases caused by viruses and bacteria. A study recently published in Pediatrics found that there are about 11 million instances in which antibiotics were inappropriately prescribed to patients. Yikes!

3. Sharing is not caring!

If you follow the first two rules above, this shouldn't be an issue! I have seen an alarming amount of people over the years giving leftover antibiotics to their friends and family because they feel ill. The overuse of antibiotics plays a large role in allowing them to learn what all of these medications are and develop resistance. So before you go around asking for antibiotics, remember that their use should only be under the supervision of a physician!

Science is good, smart science is even better!