How Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Work – Regenerative Medicine

Saturday, January 16, 2010

What was a wonderful new cure for infections during World War II, has now become common place and overused. Such overused has caused a new emerging threat to society. This threat is the emergence of “superbugs” resistant to antibiotics. To understand why that is possible lets briefly discuss how antibiotics work. Antibiotics are produced by certain organisms to inhibit, harm, kill and slow down other foreign organisms (as a defense mechanism). Antibiotics harm foreign organisms by interfering with their functions and structure in various ways. Basically, they either directly destroy the cell walls and membranes of the foreign organisms or disrupt their essential DNA and RNA processes. The result is the death of most of the foreign organisms.

There are two significant facts that should be widely publicized in order to prevent or significantly decrease the unnecessary use of antibiotics. First, antibiotics do not kill viruses. The reason for that is that viruses are not alive in the first place. Viruses can not reproduce unless they are inside another living cell. Therefore, antibiotics are useless if taken to fight a viral infection.

Second, bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics. This is a fact that has come to light most significantly after 1996 when the first case of antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus was reported in Japan. This is caused by the widespread use of antibacterial lotions, soaps and sprays, and most significantly with the over utilization of antibiotics. None of these agents kill 100% of bacteria, a few that are more resistant always stay alive. This phenomenon is actually favoring the evolution of strong strains of bacteria.

The emergence of stronger or more resistant bacteria (which some call “superbugs”) should be a concern to all. There is a serious danger associated with acquiring a bacterial infection with antibiotic resistant bacteria. Specifically, the infection will not be cured by the conventional antibiotic treatment. That can result in strong and more toxic antibiotics to be required for treatment which, may have possible side-effects. In the worse case scenario, it can result in death, much like it did before antibiotics were discovered.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides a wealth of information to educate the public in the proper use of antibiotics. So how what can be done to reduce the emergence of these dangerous “superbugs”? We can all do our part by using moderation in the use of antibiotics. Don’t assume antibiotics should be prescribed by your doctor for any kind of infections. When a prescription is given, do follow it carefully; take all the doses even when you begin to fill better.

This will ensure the most significant eradication of the bacteria. Otherwise, the infection may come back, since the bacteria left behind (due to an incomplete use of a prescription) regenerates to sufficient magnitude to cause illness. Do not share antibiotics with family members or save them for another time. Follow all the instructions provided by your pharmacists to ensure the optimum results.

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