Reenergizing antibiotics in the war against infections
Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 12:00
in Health & Medicine
In principle, antibiotics suppress infections either by killing the bacteria, which is called a bactericidal effect or by merely inhibiting their growth, by what is called a bacteriostatic effect. After the treatment has been stopped, growth-inhibited bacteria, however, can re-emerge from their dormancy to start multiplying again with latent infections relapsing back into full-blown attacks. A critical differentiator that separates the effects of bactericidal and bacteriostatic antibiotics has been identified by researchers: cellular respiration.