How Antibiotics Work

Antibiotics work according to the mechanism of action (what the drug “targets” in microbes or how the drug “works” in the microbe) that is driven by the drug’s distinguishing chemical structure. Chemical structures also define the “classification” of antibiotics. If you hear doctors talk about “macrolides” versus “quinolones”, they are talking about families of drugs (not “one” specific drug) and they are referring to the way each family of drugs targets microbes. When you hear about “generations” of an antibiotic, this means the chemical structure of the current drug has been modified (changed) somehow. These changes are designed to improve the action of the drug, especially when the bacteria have evolved to resist the original drug. A well known example is Penicillin resistance. Overuse of penicillin resulted in widespread bacterial resistance to this drug. If I went to the doctor today and the doctor decided that a beta-lactam based antibiotic was appropriate, the doctor may prescribe amoxicillin or one of the newer generation cephalosporins versus the original penicillin. That’s because the doctor is thinking the bacteria in my body will probably laugh at penicillin and a “newer” penicillin (like amoxicillin) may be needed. Why We must complete the ENTIRE course of antibiotic therapy One of the biggest problems in antibiotic resistance, besides antibiotics being ove...
Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Antibiotics Business of Medicine Critical Consumer Source Type: blogs