beta-lactam's vs. villainous shape-shifters

[Guest guest]

Borrelia burgdorferi vs. Beta-Lactam antibiotics (cephalosporins and

penicillins)

Borrelia wins.<http://tinyurl.com/6b3lv>

Staphylococcus aureus vs. Beta-Lactam antibiotics

Staph wins. <http://tinyurl.com/572yt

Tony wrote about surveys done in Australia indicating antibiotic use

prior to CFS in many patients. I am not aware of any similar data.

It would be interesting to know which antibiotics those were. I

think I took penicillin for tonsillitis the year before I got sick in

1970 and some after. There has long been a dogmatic principal among

many people that all antibiotics are bad. I'm convinced that they

are not all bad, but that the beta-lactams are for some portion of

the population very bad.

Roy

BTW, I deleted and reposted this because the URLs were switched,in

case anybody is seeing double :-)

> Reported June 18, 2007

> Bacteria Sneaks and Hides in Cells

> (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Researchers have found Staphylococcus aureus

> bacteria may elude the immune system by sneaking into cells and

> hiding out to avoid detection.

>

> Researchers from University Hospital of Geneva in Switzerland and

the

> Institute of Food Research in Norwich, UK, embarked on a study to

> find out just what S. aureus does in human lung epithelial cells.

S.

> aureus is a major cause of human and animal infections.

>

>

> Just like a villainous shape-shifter, shortly after S. aureus

entered

> the lung cells, researchers found the bacteria's gene expression

> profile changed dramatically. They found the gene expression for

> bacterial metabolic functions and transport actually shut down,

> leaving the infectious bug in a dormant state. At the same time,

> researchers discovered the production of toxins that can kill

> epithelial cells became strictly controlled to limit cell damage.

> Then, the mechanisms that help the bacteria survive resumed.

>

>

> Results of the study could pave the way to a better understanding

of

> these types of infections as well as help researchers come up with

> better antibacterial drugs to fight them. It could also help them

> better understand what goes on at the molecular level that makes S.

> aureus so persistent. Researchers say the bacteria can re-surface

and

> cause another infection years after the initial episode was " cured. "

>

> Patrice Francois, from University Hospital in Geneva, was quoted as

> saying, " S. aureus intracellular survival appears related to its

> capability to adopt a discrete behavior instead of actively

> duplicating. S. aureus then benefits from natural or programmed

cell

> death to re-emerge and trigger another episode of infection,

leading

> to chronicity. "

>

> This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical

Alerts

> by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on:

> http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

>

> SOURCE: BMC Genomics, June 14, 2007

>

>

>

>

>

> > http://tinyurl.com/3c9c8u

> >

> > Roy

> >

>