Antibiotics can permanently destroy gut flora balance, leading to lifelong illness

[Guest guest]

*Commentary*:

Antibiotics can permanently destroy gut flora balance, leading to

lifelong illness

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

http://tinyurl.com/5vjjn59

Overuse and overprescription of antibiotic drugs has become a widely

known culprit in causing the emergence of antibiotic-resistant

" superbugs, " as well as the onset of digestive and other health

problems, caused by the elimination of beneficial gut flora. But a new

review published in the journal Nature suggests that such gut flora

alterations could be permanent....

*Synopsis*:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/08/killing-beneficial-bacteria/

" Among the findings he cites in support: The population-level

observation that the incidence of infection with H. pylori, the

bacterial cause of gastric ulcers, has declined over decades just as the

incidence of esophageal cancer has risen. In addition, he offers his own

research group's observation that children who don't acquire H. pylori

are at greater risk of developing allergy and asthma, and their findings

that eradicating H. pylori affects the production of the two hormones,

ghrelin and leptin, that play a role in weight gain. "

*Article*:

Antibiotic overuse: Stop the killing of beneficial bacteria

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v476/n7361/full/476393a.html

* Blaser1

Journal name:

Nature

Volume:

476,

Pages:

393--394

Date published:

(25 August 2011)

DOI:

doi:10.1038/476393a

Published online

24 August 2011