Switching Antibiotics Outsmarts Bacteria

A recent research found that switching between two antibiotics could effectively combat drug resistance.

12:19 13 April 2015

A new technique is now being studied after a laboratory test suggests that switching antibiotics can combat drug resistance. Scientists have tested several sequence of low-dose antibiotics against a common bug which worked by completely eliminating the bacteria, performing better than conventional combinations of drugs given at higher dosage. 

 

The researchers, who published their findings in the journal PLoS Biology, believe that the outcome was because one antibiotic sensitises the bug, making it more vulnerable to the effects of the other. 

 

Prof Robert Beardmore, of Exeter University, said: "We were very baffled when we discovered this. This research should really have been done 50 years ago.

 

"If it is proven to work in humans, perhaps we could take the arsenal of drugs we already have and use them more effectively with this switching strategy."

 

He added: "One outcome of this highly surprising result will be to set in motion a series of studies to determine ways of using antibiotics not only in combination but sequentially and with the potential for lower doses than is currently thought possible."