Comments on: Sugar Helps Antibiotics Kill Dug-In Bacteria http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/05/12/sugar-helps-antibiotics-kill-dug-in-bacteria/ Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:34:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: DT http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/05/12/sugar-helps-antibiotics-kill-dug-in-bacteria/#comment-27122 DT Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:13:14 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=28954#comment-27122 I'm afraid Katie's Aunt wasn't onto anything. Bacteria love sugar, she was more likely to be making the problem worse. Persisters are essentially a few bacteria that are completely the same as all other bacteria in an infection, except that they have "volunteered" to go into a kind of hibernation. Antibiotics are poison to bacteria, and any bacteria living their lives at a normal speed will be killed by antibiotics. But since persisters are essentially half-asleep, they don't take in the poisonous antibiotics, and stay alive until well after you stop taking antibiotics. And then they multiply, and most of the new bacteria are moving at their normal speed, making you sick again. What this paper showed was that certain sugars "wake up" the persisters just enough to make them also take in antibiotics and die. But sugar without the antibiotics is just food for bacteria. I’m afraid Katie’s Aunt wasn’t onto anything. Bacteria love sugar, she was more likely to be making the problem worse.

Persisters are essentially a few bacteria that are completely the same as all other bacteria in an infection, except that they have “volunteered” to go into a kind of hibernation. Antibiotics are poison to bacteria, and any bacteria living their lives at a normal speed will be killed by antibiotics.

But since persisters are essentially half-asleep, they don’t take in the poisonous antibiotics, and stay alive until well after you stop taking antibiotics. And then they multiply, and most of the new bacteria are moving at their normal speed, making you sick again.

What this paper showed was that certain sugars “wake up” the persisters just enough to make them also take in antibiotics and die.

But sugar without the antibiotics is just food for bacteria.

]]> By: Katie Hall http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/05/12/sugar-helps-antibiotics-kill-dug-in-bacteria/#comment-27121 Katie Hall Sat, 14 May 2011 09:04:36 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=28954#comment-27121 I remember that my Aunt would put sugar on cuts, maybe she was onto something. I think science can learn a lot from looking into old remedies that can fix. Refrigerators and kitchen cabinets might be the new medicine chest. I remember that my Aunt would put sugar on cuts, maybe she was onto something. I think science can learn a lot from looking into old remedies that can fix. Refrigerators and kitchen cabinets might be the new medicine chest.

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