Long-Term Antibiotic Use Affects "Good" Gut Bacteria

sea-maid submitted, created time 1 month 2 weeks (health.yahoo.com)

Antibiotic treatment, especially when prolonged or repeated, may have a negative impact on beneficial bacteria that live in the gut, according to a new study.

Gut bacteria play helpful roles in various aspects of human nutrition, metabolism and immune responses, experts note.

Researchers focused on the widely-used antibiotic ciprofloxacin, prescribed for a number of bacteria-caused conditions, including urinary tract infections. It has been believed that ciprofloxacin causes only modest harm to beneficial bacteria in the body.

In this study, Stanford University's Dr

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: ciprofloxacin antibiotic-resistant bacteria glut flora overuse of antibiotics antibiotics symbiosis symbiotic bacteria bacteria