Increased antibiotic use can lead, seemingly paradoxically, to more problematic infections, as the bacteria evolve to resist the treatment. The answer to this antimicrobial resistance, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called “one of the world’s most urgent public health problems,” might be a medication used for kidney disease, according to a team led by researchers at Penn State.
Antibiotics kill or stop the growth of bacteria, but the more they are used, the better bacteria become at resisting them. The team found that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug sevelamer, typically prescribed to help bind excess phosphorus in the blood of people with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis, could also bind off-target antibiotics in mice. Antibiotics are labeled as “off-target” when they appear in the body away from the infection site—in this case, a small portion escapes the bloodstream and is excreted into the gut.
The researchers published their results, which they said suggest a way to help mitigate antibiotic resistance, in the journal Small. The idea is that the sevelamer can find and bind the off-target antibiotics, preventing them from interacting with bacteria in the gut, like leashing a dog to keep it from chasing a squirrel.
By Ashley WennersHerrron, Pennsylvania State University
Article can be accessed on: MedicalXpress