Antibiotics
Episodes
In this clip, Dr. Eran Elinav explains the new field of bacteriophages and how they could be combined with probiotics to generate personalized therapies.
In this clip, Dr. Eran Elinav discusses the importance of the early childhood period in shaping a healthy microbiome.
In this clip, Dr. Roger Seheult discusses concerns about whether vaccines were rushed or can lead to more harmful forms of the virus.
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In this clip, Dr. Eran Elinav explains the new field of bacteriophages and how they could be combined with probiotics to generate personalized therapies.
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In this clip, Dr. Eran Elinav discusses the importance of the early childhood period in shaping a healthy microbiome.
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In this clip, Dr. Roger Seheult discusses concerns about whether vaccines were rushed or can lead to more harmful forms of the virus.
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Rhonda Vitamin D Brain Cancer Epigenetics Aging Hormones Diabetes Vitamin C Antibiotics Vitamin K Sulforaphane Sauna Glutathione Oxidative Stress NAD+ CardiovascularDr. Rhonda Patrick answers audience questions on various health, nutrition, and science topics in this Q&A session.
Topic Pages
News & Publications
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Mid-life long duration antibiotic use of >= two months linked to poorer scores in cognition, learning, working memory, and attention in later life www.sciencealert.com
Antibiotic use in midlife increases a person’s risk for neuropsychiatric diseases.
Antibiotics are prescribed for a wide range of infectious diseases. In 2015, healthcare providers in the United States wrote nearly 270 million antibiotic prescriptions – more than 800 antibiotic prescriptions for every 1,000 people. Health experts estimate that 30 percent of these prescriptions were likely unnecessary. Findings from a new study suggest that antibiotic use in midlife increases a person’s risk for neuropsychiatric diseases.
The study included approximately 15,000 midlife participants (average age, 55 years) enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study II, an ongoing prospective cohort study of female nurses. The participants completed questionnaires regarding their general health, diet, lifestyle, and medication use during the previous four years, including antibiotic use and the reason for which the antibiotic was prescribed. The investigators categorized the participants' cumulative antibiotic use as none, one to 14 days, 15 days to two months, and two months or more. Participants also completed a battery of neuropsychological tests.
The investigators found that participants who took antibiotics for at least two months over the previous four years were more likely to perform worse on neuropsychological tests than participants who did not take antibiotics. The influence of antibiotic use on neuropsychological test scores was roughly equivalent to three to four years of aging. These findings held true even after considering other factors that could influence cognitive function, including age and coexisting illnesses.
These findings suggest that longer exposure to antibiotics in midlife negatively influences cognitive health, underscoring the importance of moderating antibiotic use in older adults. They also support findings from animal studies that suggest antibiotic use early in life alters neuropeptide signaling pathways that influence behavioral development. Learn more about the effects of antibiotic use in early life in this clip featuring Dr. Eran Elinav.
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A 2008 article by Dr. Anthony Fauci identifies pneumonia as primary cause of death for 1918 pandemic victims, raising alarm about future pandemics. www.sciencedaily.com
The global influenza pandemic of 1918 was the deadliest in history, claiming the lives of more than 50 million people worldwide. Although the cause of the outbreak has been attributed to infection from the H1N1 virus, a 2008 study co-authored by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, suggested the primary cause of death among those infected was pneumonia.
Fauci and his colleagues conducted an extensive review of the scientific literature detailing the pathological and bacteriological evidence regarding the pandemic, derived from the findings of more than 8,000 autopsies. Then they examined preserved lung tissue samples from 58 of those autopsies to determine the cause of death.
They found that the death rate followed an age-specific, W-shaped curve, with the highest peaks occurring among infants and elderly people and a slightly lower peak occurring among young adults between the ages of 20 and 40 years old. Examination of the tissue samples revealed that severe acute bacterial pneumonia was present in nearly every case as either the primary pathological feature or coincidental to other features commonly associated with influenza infection, including serious injury to the tissues of the respiratory tract.
The primary pathogens identified in the samples were pneumococci, streptococci, and staphylococci – bacteria that commonly reside in the throat and upper respiratory tract and typically pose no harm. However, the injurious tissue changes that accompanied the primary viral infection created an environment conducive to secondary bacterial infection and subsequent pneumonia. Also present in the samples were Bacillus influenzae, bacteria that often facilitate the infiltration of other pneumonia-causing bacteria.
Taken together, these findings suggest that pandemic preparedness should include the stockpiling of antibiotics and bacterial vaccines.