Antibiotics Toll On Beneficial Microbes in the gut | Arthritis Information

 

It's common knowledge that a protective navy of bacteria normally floats in our intestinal tracts. Antibiotics at least temporarily disturb the normal balance. But it's unclear which antibiotics are the most disruptive, and if the full array of "good bacteria" return promptly or remain altered for some time.

In studies in mice, University of Michigan scientists have shown for the first time that two different types of antibiotics can cause moderate to wide-ranging changes in the ranks of these helpful guardians in the gut. In the case of one of the antibiotics, the armada of "good bacteria" did not recover its former diversity even many weeks after a course of antibiotics was over.

The findings will guide Young in related work in which he is using mouse models to examine how changes in the microbiota in the gut may influence how inflammatory bowel disease develops and progresses. The study will also inform ongoing research in his lab to gain insights into colitis associated with C. difficile infection. The Young laboratory recently published a study that demonstrates that long-term decreases in gut microbe diversity from repeated antibiotics are associated with recurring C. difficile infection in human patients.

Young cautions against concluding that popular probiotics supplements necessarily are safe and effective for everyone looking for a way to restore healthy gut microbes. An individual's specific health needs and vulnerabilities have to be considered. "Probiotics may be part of the solution, but we don't know that yet," he says.

Other authors are: first author Dionysios A. Antonopoulos, Ph.D. Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan; Susan M. Huse, Ph.D., Mitchell L. Sogin,Ph.D., and Hilary G. Morrison, Ph.D., Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Mass.; and Thomas M. Schmidt, Ph.D., Michigan State University.

Funding for the study came from the National Institutes of Health.

Citation: Infection and Immunity, Vol. 77, Issue 6, June 2009

Source: University of Michigan Health System
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