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Girls given antibiotics during their first year of life, especially in the first three months, are more likely to enter puberty at an earlier age, according to research. The likelihood of early puberty was also higher among those exposed to a greater variety of antibiotic classes. The findings highlight the importance of using these medicines in infants appropriately and how early-life drug exposure could shape future health outcomes. Early puberty, also known as central precocious puberty (CPP), is a condition characterized by the early onset of secondary sexual development in children. In girls this means before age 8 and, in...

It's a grim paradox, doctors say. On the one hand, antibiotics are being overused until they no longer work, driving resistance and fuelling the rise of deadly superbugs. On the other hand, people are dying because they can't access these life-saving drugs. A new study by the non-profit Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) looked at access to antibiotics for nearly 1.5 million cases of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative (CRGN) infections across eight major low- and middle-income countries, including India, Brazil and South Africa. CRGN bacteria are superbugs resistant to last-line antibiotics - yet only 6.9% of patients received appropriate treatment...

A recent study found that babies treated with antibiotics within the first few weeks of their life showed weaker immune response to vaccines due to reduced levels of Bifidobacterium—a bacterial species that lives in the human gastrointestinal tract. Replenishing Bifidobacterium in the gut microbiome using probiotic supplements such as Infloran showed promising results in restoring the immune response. The researchers followed 191 healthy, vaginally born infants from their birth to 15 months: 86% of the participants received the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, and, by six weeks of age, began their routine childhood vaccinations. The infants were grouped based on...

Over Thanksgiving last year, I got strep throat. I haven’t had strep since college and it reminded me quickly why I hope to never have it again. It’s awful. But antibiotics are God’s gift to humanity. I only had to endure the effects of strep until the antibiotics kicked in, but every hour the pain lasted, I thanked God I live this side of modern medicine. ...Back during the anthrax scare of the early 2000s, news anchor Tom Brokaw closed his evening broadcast saying “in Cipro we trust.” This drug had saved the life of his co-workers and many others....

I recently started taking a very common antibiotic, Amoxicillin, that years ago I had no issue with. I had a slightly itchy rash develop a couple hours later. A rash I can live with, but it can be the precursor to a more serious reaction. I took Cipro years ago and was one of those people who have the rare reaction of it possibly causing abrupt Achilles tendon ruptures (I got aching precursors to this happening, but fortunately was at the end of course of it and didn't have a rupture). I suspect I might have an issue with Zithro...

Turmeric has been a healing remedy in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. It comes from the rhizome (root) of the Curcuma longa plant and has a warm, earthy flavor. Turmeric's active compound, curcumin, is a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant with many health benefits, from soothing joint pain to enhancing digestion and immunity. 1. Arthritis (Joint Pain) Arthritis is a broad term that describes over 100 conditions that cause joint inflammation, pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility. Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, typically develops due to age-related "wear and tear." Other types, like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic...

Seaweed is increasingly being seen as a resource that can be used to manufacture goods sustainability. One lab in Norway is working on a new method to make antibiotics, by training bacteria to eat seaweed.

Using antibiotics alone to treat children with uncomplicated appendicitis is a cost-saving alternative to surgery, according to a study. The analysis was based on a review of data from more than 1,000 patients, aged 7 to 17, who were treated for uncomplicated acute appendicitis at several hospitals throughout the Midwest region between 2015 and 2018. Parents were given the choice of two treatment strategies—antibiotics alone or urgent laparoscopic appendectomy. Nonoperative management consisted of at least 24 hours of intravenous antibiotics. Patients whose symptoms did not resolve underwent laparoscopic appendectomy during the same hospital admission. Ratio of costs-to-charges-based data (cost divided...

Researchers say antibiotics given in infancy can disrupt development of the microbiome, resulting in increased levels of aggression later in life.Giving antibiotics to young mice is likely to make them more aggressive in later life, according to a new study. Researchers at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, central Israel, believe their findings could well apply to humans as well. They say there is a significant link between antibiotics – medication used to treat bacterial infections – and the diverse microorganisms of the gut, known as the microbiome. Antibiotics given in infancy can disrupt the development and limit the diversity of...

Antimicrobial resistance is already killing millions around the globe, but deaths could surge by 68 per cent between 2021 and 2050, according to a major new study. More than 39 million people worldwide could die from antibiotic-resistant infections over the next 25 years, and another 130 million could die of related causes, according to a landmark new study that comes days before global leaders convene in New York to sign off on a pledge to combat the growing public health threat. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – when bacteria or other pathogens evolve to the point where antibiotics are no longer effective...

In a study, Dr. Shai Bel and his research team have uncovered crucial insights into how antibiotic use increases the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The study demonstrates that antibiotics interfere with the protective mucus layer in the intestine, a discovery that could reshape our understanding of antibiotic effects and IBD development. IBD, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, affects approximately 1% of the global population. This debilitating condition is marked by the erosion of the mucosal layer that serves as a critical barrier between the gut microbiome and the immune system. Despite ongoing research, the exact causes...

A recall of Boar's Head deli meat products has been widely expanded over concerns that they may be linked to a fatal listeria outbreak in the U.S., federal officials said Tuesday. Another 3,500 tons of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold under the Boar's Head and Old Country brands have been added to the initial recall, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. This is in addition to approximately 103 tons of Boar's Head products that were recalled last week. The recall now includes a total of 71 products that were produced between May 10 and July 29, the USDA said....

In emergency rooms and intensive care units across the country, clinicians make split-second decisions about which antibiotics to give a patient. A new study reveals that these decisions may have unintended consequences for patient outcomes. Beginning in 2015, a 15-month national shortage of a commonly prescribed antibiotic, piperacillin/tazobactam--known by the brand name Zosyn--provided a unique opportunity to compare rates of death in hospitalized patients with sepsis who were administered two different types of antibiotics—one that spares the gut microbiome and one that profoundly alters it. Piperacillin/tazobactam is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is commonly administered for sepsis, a life-threatening complication from...

Surgery patients on blockbuster weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy could be at risk of choking to death, a study warns. Researchers in California looked at nearly 1 million Americans who had an endoscopy, which examines the upper digestive tract. They found that patients who underwent the procedure - which involves inserting a tube with a camera on the end down the throat while the patient is sedated- were 33 percent more likely to suffer aspiration pneumonia. This causes food, liquids, or saliva to get sucked into the airway, which could lead to choking and kills nearly 60,000 Americans a...

Popular due to their effectiveness in fighting various bacterial infections, fluoroquinolone antibiotics carry risks that can be worse than the illness. SNIP>>>>>> Fluoroquinolones, including ciprofloxacin (Cipro), levofloxacin (Levaquin), and moxifloxacin (Avelox), are powerful antibiotics designed to battle various bacterial infections—from urinary tract and respiratory infections to dermatological conditions. Fluoroquinolones are broadly effective and can reach deep into tissues to combat bacteria, which made them increasingly popular among doctors after their U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 1980. They also require fewer doses than some other antibiotics, making them convenient for patients to use. Fluoroquinolones possess the ability to...

Health officials are warning that the rise of life-threatening sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is “out of control.” According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, STIs are on a worrying rise putting millions of people’s lives at risk from entirely preventable infections. “STIs must be a public health priority,” the CDC warned on Tuesday. The health agency noted that “the most alarming concerns” revolve around syphilis cases — which are at the highest level they’ve been in more than seven decades. Reported chlamydia cases have remained at a record high level but gonorrhea cases did decline...

Less is also better—that is what researchers have found while conducting a tri-nation clinical trial to see if shorter courses of antibiotics are as effective as longer prescriptions of the drug to treat ventilator-associated pneumonia. The four-year long study involved 460 patients. While personalized short-course treatment duration for patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) was just as effective in comparison to the standard treatment duration, the short-course treatment strategy also successfully reduced antibiotic side effects from 38% to 8%. VAP is a common lung infection among critically ill patients who are dependent on ventilators to breathe. The infection risk of death...

In a new study, researchers found that patients prescribed amoxicillin-clavulanate had higher rates of gastrointestinal symptoms and yeast infections than those prescribed amoxicillin. Acute sinusitis is one of the most common causes for children to be put on antibiotic medications. Scientists analyzed the treatment outcomes of over 300,000 children who were prescribed either of the two drugs. They found that there was no difference in the rates of treatment failure between patients prescribed amoxicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanate. Treatment failure was so rare that the study's authors say that physicians should be confident that either medication will clear a case of acute...

Phages—tiny entities that infect bacteria—were discovered over 100 years ago but were largely abandoned as therapies. Now they’re making a comeback.Regular readers will know that the microbiome is one of my favorite topics to cover. The billions of bacteria crawling all over our bodies play a vital role in our health, influencing everything from digestion to immune health and even our moods. But there’s something else that makes a home inside us. Bacteriophages—or phages for short—are microscopic viruses even smaller than our gut microbes. These viruses infect bacteria and turn them into factories to make more of themselves. Phages were...

Antibiotics administered before and during surgery should be discontinued immediately after a patient's incision is closed, according to updated recommendations for preventing surgical site infections. Experts found no evidence that continuing antibiotics after a patient's incision has been closed, even if it has drains, prevents surgical site infections. Continuing antibiotics does increase the patient's risk of C. difficile infection, which causes severe diarrhea, and antimicrobial resistance. "Strategies to Prevent Surgical Site Infections in Acute Care Hospitals: 2022 Update," provides evidence-based strategies for preventing infections for all types of surgeries from top experts from five medical organizations led by the Society...