There have been many theories of late as to the benefits and side effects of antibiotics. Of course, antibiotics are go-to’s for hospitals when treating infections of all kinds, but people are wondering what they take out of our bodies and how they may weaken us as we are recovering. Now studies suggest that antibiotics can boost the growth of many forms of bacteria. The studies were conducted by the University of Exeter, where this latest fact was discovered, the growth of bacteria can definitely be stimulated by the use of antibiotics.
The E. Coli bacteria was used to conduct the study and was then exposed to 8 bouts of treatment of antibiotics. Over a four-day period of the study, the E. Coli bacteria continually increased its resistance to the antibiotic after each treatment. The resistance was not a surprise to the researchers, however, the fact that the newly produced strain grew faster and stronger, was not expected. In fact, the E. Coli mutations were three times larger than the original strain.
This type of growth and mutation was only seen in the bacteria that was treated by the antibiotics, and stopping the antibiotic treatment did not reverse the changes of the bacteria. The growth and mutations remained. “Our research suggests there could be added benefits for E.coli bacteria when they evolve resistance to clinical levels of antibiotics,” said lead author Professor Robert Beardmore, of the University of Exeter.
The growth of bacteria tends to be compared to Darwinian evolution and Professor Beardmore states that he has never seen such growth and evolution of a bacteria without that bacteria being introduced to an antibiotic. Once the bacteria has mutated it can stop the effects of the antibiotic drugs within just a matter of days. The DNA of the E. Coli changed rapidly, causing a total resistance to the drug.
So what now? Many people ask, who have been on antibiotics for illnesses previously. Dr. Mark Hewlett of the University of Exeter says that at present, the only answer is to make sure you give the patient the correct antibiotic for the particular infection as soon as possible in the early stages of the illness. There is then less chance of increasing resistance, growth, and mutations, if this type of treatment occurs.
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