Anti-TNF, IL-10, antibiotics in indometacin-induced bowel inflammation This is an interesting article that implicates both TNF-alpha and anaerobic bacteria in the development of Crohn’s disease. So we are using fancy new drugs to block TNF-alpha (we all know my opinion on THIS one…); where is the other half of the therapy designed to address to […]
I remain firm on my mantra that destruction of healthy bacterial flora is the worst thing we can do for an infant’s health. But probiotics can fix the damage from antibiotics, right? I used to think so as well. Of course, mainstream medicine (pediatricians, in particular) worry about antibiotic resistance from the overuse of antibiotics. […]
Are antibiotics effective for adults and children with acute sore throats? This is a Cochrane Collaboration review of the effectiveness of antibiotics for sore throat. The overall results did show that antibiotics were effective at reducing the symptoms by day 3. Interestingly, 22 studies were reviewed, and only four were recent; the majority were done […]
Why Are Antibiotics Prescribed for Patients With Acute Bronchitis? This study asks the question of providers, despite multiple studies showing no benefit to using antibiotics in acute bronchitis, why are antibiotics still being prescribed? The answer? They don’t really know!! No patterns were detected based on signs and symptoms, so the authors concluded that it […]
Antibiotics Losing Their Power Against Acne Is this any big surprise? Forget acne–how about the long term damage to normal flora when a patient is put on long term broad spectrum antibiotics for a condition such as acne? In my office, if a patient presents to me with severe allergies, almost invariably there has been […]
