Antibiotics before liver transplants lead to better results

A UCLA-led research team has  found that giving mice antibiotics for 10 days prior to a liver transplant leads to better liver function after the surgery.After concluding the experiment mice, the scientists discovered data from liver transplants performed between October 2013 and August 2015 at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, revealing that the same phenomenon appears to hold true in humans. The statistics from human patients even demonstrated that the people who were in worse health prior to their surgeries but received pre-surgery antibiotics fared better after their transplants than the patients who were healthier prior to their surgeries but did not receive antibiotics.The researchers concluded that the antibiotics inhibited bacteria that causes inflammation, which in turn can lead to organ rejection. Specifically, they found that in both mice and humans, the treatment prior to a transplant reduced damage that could occur when blood flow is restored to the liver after a period of time without oxygen; and it reduced inflammation and cell damage while accelerating the removal of damaged cells. As a result, liver function was better than in the mice and human patients who did not receive antibiotics before a transplant.Humans carry trillions of bacteria, many of which are essential for health — aiding in food digestion, for example. But other bacteria are linked to inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and even Parkinson’s disease...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news