Antibiotics can be a lifesaver (literally) but when it comes to taking them it’s a whole other story. Sometimes having to take the pills three to four times a day for a week or so can be challenging to remember.
Arguably, this is one thing that is contributing to the world’s significant issues with antibiotic resistance. The pills are such a pain to remember that once a person’s symptoms clear up, it’s not uncommon for them to just stop taking them rather than finishing the prescribed course.
This is great news for the bacteria: though you’re feeling better, you might not have taken the pills for long enough to kill all of the bacteria that were making you ill. The remaining bacteria – which would have been eradicated if you’d taken the full course – will have built up a tolerance for the antibiotic.
When they breed, they will be able to pass on this resistance, meaning that for you and others with this new mutated form of the bacteria in the future, the particular type of antibiotic you took may not work.
This is a very real problem all around the world. And it’s solution may just have been found by researchers at the University of Waterloo, Canada.
In two academic papers, published in the academic journals Nanotechnology and Drug Delivery and Translational Research, the research team led by Dr. Emmanuel Ho explained how new nanomedicine may hold the answer.
The single pill that the team have developed holds an entire course of antibiotics that are tweaked to fit the individual patient’s condition and bacterial load. This one pill should help the patient to recover from the infection by targeting the bacteria.
Tested on two types of bacteria – Streptococcus pneumoniae and Gardnerella vaginalis which cause meningitis and bacterial vaginosis, respectively – the team found that the pill was effective in fighting both the very serious and less serious bacterial conditions.
Traditional antibiotics work over time, hence the reason that we have to take so many pills over the prescribed time period. The nanomedicine also works over time, even though you only need to take it once.
The pill contains fatty compounds that targets the bacteria on a microbial level. These compounds are able to identify the bacteria through the toxins that they release. When the compounds detect the toxins, they are able to selectively release the medication in a targeted way, as Professor Ho explained in a statement:
“Compared to traditional therapies that release drugs continuously, even when not needed, our nanomedicine is designed to release drugs only when required, which will potentially reduce severe side effects associated with excess dosing. In addition to combatting anti-microbial resistance by ensuring patients take all of their medicine, there would be fewer side effects because they also don’t take too much of the drug. Our technology is far-reaching, and this is just the beginning.”
The great news is that it is not possible to overdose on this pill either. Instead, any of the compounds from the medication that does not come into contact with the toxins and, thus, is not released, will be organically broken down and excreted in the body’s normal processes.
This nanomedicine could spell the future for a world in which bacterial infections – both uncomfortable and life-threatening ones – are a thing of the past.
If you found that story interesting, learn more about why people often wake up around 3 AM and keep doing it for life.