A new study suggests that a common treatment to deadly MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus areus) can actually make a person sicker by causing inflammation and tissue damage, increasing the need of a more accurate guideline in issuing antibiotics.
Some people can carry staph infection, an infection that affects the soft tissues, but a small percentage is affected by MRSA, which is characterized by the bacteria's resistance to different common antibiotics. Thus, the treatment is often difficult and needs a combination of drug therapies, which include beta lactam, a class of drugs made up of penicillin derivatives. If left untreated, it can be life threatening. So far, it's been reported that MRSA infection kills over 10,000 people a year.
However, a study conducted by researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in California revealed that beta lactam can induce damage to the tissues and inflammation of the body as consequence of MRSA's reaction to the drug. Eventually, the person becomes much sicker and the infection possibly stronger.
The scientists used a mouse model to illustrate it. They exposed the lab mice to MRSA infection and provided them with beta lactam, one of the first lines of treatments against the infection. They then observed the mice's immune response.
Based on their analysis, the mice got sicker as the MRSA bacteria created a new protein version. Proteins are generally used by the bacteria to help them create a wall that would make them less visible from the immune system. With the introduction of the drug, a certain gene is induced, with the newer protein building weaker cellular walls. Since the immune system can already detect them, they can now attack the bacteria but not without dire consequences. Since the immune system goes into an overdrive, it results to serious inflammation, which may later damage the tissues.
With these results, the researchers hope they could conduct more human studies to come up with more reliable guidelines on MRSA treatment, especially when and how to administer antibiotics and other drugs.