Wide range of drugs affect growth of gut microbes, study says

It’s not just antibiotics that affect our microbes – a quarter of drugs designed to act on human cells do so too

A wide range of drugs from cancer therapies to antipsychotics affect the growth of microbes that are found in our gut, researchers say, highlighting that it is not only antibiotics that can have an impact on our internal flora.

These microbes, whose genes taken together are known as the gut microbiome, play an important role in our health, including for our immune system and our digestion, and have been linked to a host of diseases such as autoimmune conditions, obesity and mood disorders.

Related: ‘Antibiotic apocalypse’: doctors sound alarm over drug resistance

Related: Is your gut microbiome the key to health and happiness?

Continue reading... March 19, 2018 at 09:47PM