Bacteriophages Vs Antibiotics

Bacterio bacterio bacterio bacteriophages ar actu entirelyy computer viruses highly specialized to labialize bacterial cells go doing no harm to animal cells. When a phage discovers a bacterium to which it possesses the correct keythat is, suitable receptors on the bacterial cell to which the phage tramp attach its tentacle-like extensionsthen the phage willing inject its hereditary DNA into the bacteria cell. Taking over the bacterial cells biochemical apparatus, the phage produces hundreds of phage copies, rupturing the cell. As the victim cell dies, the released phage copies attack any remaining bacterial cells like a take of hungry wolves (Reidel).Advantages The advantages of the therapy ar obvious. Bacteriophages be very ad hoc parasites and, unlike antibiotic drugs, do not damage the reusable bacteria that live in and on the body. Phages are intelligent medicine They increase just where they are needed, while antibiotics much do not get to where they are needed. Once all phage-susceptible bacteria fetch been killed, phages are eliminated from the body. The most apparent benefit of phage therapy is that although bacteria are able to develop enemy to phages the resistance is much(prenominal) easier to overcome.The reason behind this is that phages replicate and undergo natural infusion and open probably been infecting bacteria since the beginning of life on this planet. Although bacteria develop at a fast rate, so too will phages. bacteria are most likely to modify the molecule that the phage targets, which is ordinarily a bacterial receptor. In retort to this modification phages will train in much(prenominal) a way that counteracts this change, olibanum allowing them to continue targeting bacteria and causing cell lysis.As a consequence phage therapy is likely to be devoid of the problems same to antibiotic resistance. Increasing conclusion shows the ability of phages to work to a required site including the brain, where the b lood brain barrier buttocks be crossed and multiply in the presence of an appropriate bacterial host, to combat problems such(prenominal) as meningitis. However the patients immune system foundation, in just about cases mount an immune response to the phage (2 out of 44 patients in a Polish trial (Carson)).Development and production is quick than antibiotics, on condition that the required recognition molecules are know. Disadvantages According to Reidel, the phages high specificity, with which they feeling for their bacterial victims, is at the same time also their therapeutic Achilles heel. Therefore, either a cocktail containing many different types of phages must be developed by the infection control specialist, or a phage telling against the specific pathogen of each patient must be custom-made through slender microbiological analytical work.Western regulatory authorities tend to loathe recognizing such manually manufactured anti-infective agents as medicines, which ex plains why currently phage therapy is routinely wholly purchasable at phage therapy centers in Georgia (part of former Russia), europium and Poland. However, the Wound Care Center in Lubbock, Texas, has started to treat patients. For chronic infections overdue to multi-resistant pathogens, phage therapy could become a kind of miracle medicine. Wikipedia condends that Bacteriophage therapy is generally very safe however fevers base occur with phage treatment.This is thought to be ca employ by endotoxins released by the bacteria within the patient after they suck in been lysed by the phage (Herxheimer Reaction), of course this can happen with antibiotics also. Additionally treat has to be performed in manufacture that the phage medium isnt contaminated with bacterial fragments and endotoxins from the production process. It is beneficial if turn outing on animals is performed to ensure safety. Lysogenic bacteriophages are also thought to be risky, and are now seldom used therap eutically.These viruses can act as a way for bacteria to transform DNA, and this can help paste antibiotic resistance or even, theoretically, can make the bacteria pathogenic. To work, the virus has to gain the site of the bacteria, and unlike antibiotics, viruses do not necessarily reach the same places that bacteria can reach. Finally, near non therapeutic (lysogenic) phages transfer genes between bacteria that code for pathogenicity, notable in cholera. This makes it important to identify the phages being used to show that they are not harmful ones. What are ANTIBIOTICS?An antibiotic, according to Wikipedia, is a drug that kills or prevents the offset of bacteria. They squander no effect against viruses or fungal infections. antibiotics are one class of antimicrobials, a larger group which also includes anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-parasitic drugs. They are relatively harmless to the host, and therefore can be used to treat infections. The term, coined by Selman Waks man, truely described only those formulations derived from living organisms, in contrast to chemotherapeutical agents, which are purely synthetical.Nowadays the term antibiotic is also applied to synthetic antimicrobials, such as the sulfa drugs. Antibiotics are generally excellent molecules with a molecular weight less than 2000 Da. They are not enzymes. Some antibiotics have been derived from mold, for example the penicillin class. Volume 4 of How Products be Made says that antibiotics differ chemically so it is understandable that they also differ in the types of infections they cure and the slipway in which they cure them. Certain antibiotics destroy bacteria by affect the structure of their cells. This can occur in one of two ways.First, the antibiotic can weaken the cell walls of the infectious bacteria, which causes them to burst. Second, antibiotics can cause the circumscribe of the bacterial cells to leak out by damaging the cell membranes. one other way in which an tibiotics function is to interfere with the bacterias metabolism. Some antibiotics such as tetracycline and erythromycin interfere with protein synthesis. Antibiotics like rifampicin inhibit nucleic dose biosynthesis. Still other antibiotics, such as sulfonamide or trimethoprim have a general blocking effect on cell metabolism. AdvantagesIt is estimated that the ordinary duration of many infectious diseases and the severity of certain others have rock-bottom significantly since the introduction of antibiotic therapy. The dramatic drop in fatality rate rates for such dreaded diseases as meningitis, tuberculosis, and septicemia offers striking evidence of the effectiveness of these agents. Bacterial pneumonia, bacterial endocarditis, typhoid fever, and certain sexually convey diseases are also amenable to treatment with antibiotics. So are infections that lots follow viral or neoplastic diseases, even though the original illness freshthorn not respond to antibiotic therapy.Anti biotics in small amounts are astray used as feed supplements to stimulate harvest-festival of livestock and poultry. They probably act by inhibiting organisms responsible for low-grade infections and by reducing intestinal epithelial inflammation. In cattle, sheep, and swine, antibiotics are effective against economically important diseases. The use of antibiotics in dogs and cats closely resembles their use in tender health check practice. In fish farms, antibiotics are usually added to the food or applied to the fish by bathing.The incidence of infections in fish, and animals in general, may be reduced by the use of disease-resistant stock, better hygiene, and better diet. Although effective against many microorganisms causing disease in plants, antibiotics are not widely used to control crop and plant diseases. Some of the limiting factors are instability of the antibiotic under field conditions, the possibility of harmful residues, and expense. Nevertheless, antibiotic contr ol of some crop pathogens is being practiced, as is true of the strain blast in Japan, for example (Science and Tech). DisadvantagesSome individuals may have sensitised reactions to antibiotics. If symptoms of an allergic reaction (such as rash, shortness of breath, swelling of the face and neck), severe diarrhea, or abdominal cramping occur, the antibiotic should be stopped and the individual should seek medical advice. Because antibiotics can affect bacteria that are beneficial, as well as those that are harmful, women may become susceptible to infections by fungi when victorious antibiotics. Vaginal itching or discharge may be symptoms of such infections. All patients may develop oral fungal infections of the mouth, indicated by white plaques in the mouth.Injected antibiotics may result in irritation, pain, tenderness, or swelling in the vein used for injection. It is a common assertion that some antibiotics can interfere with the efficiency of birth control pills. Although th ere remain few known cases of complication, the majority of antibiotics do not interfere with contraception, despite far-flung misinformation to the contrary (Gale). And theres also what is known as Antibiotic Resistance. Wikipedia says that Antibiotic Resistance is the ability of a micro-organism to withstand the effects of an antibiotic. It is a specific type of drug resistance.Antibiotic resistance evolves naturally via natural selection through random mutation, but it could also be engineered for the purpose of creating bio-weapons. SOS response of low-fidelity polymerases can also cause mutation via a process known as programmed evolution. Once such a gene is generated, bacteria can then transfer the genetic information in a plain fashion (between individuals) by plasmid exchange. If a bacterium carries several resistance genes, it is called multiresistant or, informally, a superbug. Antibiotic resistance can also be introduced by artificial means into a micro-organism throug h transformation protocols.This can be a useful way of implanting artificial genes into the micro-organism. Phages Vs Antibiotics (A Summary) Bacteriophages are great because Bacteria evolve at a fast rate, but so do phages. This makes Bacteriophages devoid of problems similar to antibiotic resistance. Bacteriophages are very specific parasites and, unlike antibiotics, do not damage the useful bacteria that live in and on the body. Phages are intelligent medicine They increase just where they are needed, while antibiotics often do not get to where they are needed. Development and production is faster than antibiotics. The recovery rate was discovered to be faster in some casesa tribute to the speed with which the phage multiplied and overcame its host bacteria. Incidents of pervert are relatively unknown. Antibiotics are great because The use of antibiotics on domesticated animals, closely resemble its use in human medicine thus greatly benefiting them. Phages work best when in direct contact with the infection, so they are best applied directly to an open wound.This is rarely applicable in the current clinical setting where infections occur systemically. Unlike Phages, which are hardly ever used for therapeutic reasons, antibiotics reduce the incidence of both suppurative and non-suppurative complications of sore throat. A new study from Holland has confirmed that antibiotics defend against quinsy. Lysogenic bacteriophages are thought to be risky. These viruses can act as a way for bacteria to exchange DNA, and this can help spread antibiotic resistance or even, theoretically, can make the bacteria pathogenic.To work, the virus has to reach the site of the bacteria, and unlike antibiotics, viruses do not necessarily reach the same places that bacteria can reach. Antibiotics are more readily available because phages have high specifity and require detailed microbiological analytical work. Conclusion The question is still ongoing. Though the odds ar e in favor of Bacteriophages suitable more common, there have been no large clinical trials to test their efficacy. This therapy today essentially exists only in some Eastern European countries, including Georgia and Poland.But largely because of the growing concern over antibiotic resistance, a lot more people in the medical field are interested in pursuing bacteriophages as an alternative to antibiotics on a large scale. W O R K S C I T E D 1. Reidel, William. Book Review Viruses vs. Superbugs A Solution to the Antibiotics Crisis? Epoch Times. (6 May, 2006). 14 April, 2007. http//en. epochtimes. com/news/6-5-6/41280. html 2. Carson, Christine, and Thomas Riley. Non-Antibiotic Therapies for septic Diseases. Communicable Diseases Intelligence Supplement on Antimicrobial Resistance 27 (2003) pages not given3. Phage therapy. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 4 Apr 2007, 0038 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 14 Apr 2007 . 4. Antibiotic. How Products Are Made. 2006. 14 April 2007 h ttp//www. madehow. com/Volume-4/Antibiotic. html 5. Science and Technology Encyclopedia. New York McGraw-Hill, 2007 6. Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer. bread Thomson Gale, 2005 7. Antibiotic Resistance. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 2007. Answers. com 14 Apr. 2007. http//www. answers. com/topic/antibiotic-resistance