The Inconvenient Reality: Finding Alternative Care for Infection

Brittany Christopherson

As Submitted 27 September 2010 to Professor Dale Sullivan

Abstract:

As the prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria increases, alternatives to the arms race of developing new medications to try to stay ahead of the resistance are desperately needed. The following proposal introduces the idea of alternatives, provides some brief background into already established therapies, explains the methods for carrying out an in-depth research effort into alternative solutions, and gives a potential schedule for the project to adhere to in order to be completed in a timely manner.

Introduction:

Want to feel better? Pop a pill. The United States is a place of convenience and self-diagnosis. We want to get rid of all the negative aspects so we can continue living at break-neck speed because slowing down makes you less competitive. We do not have time to be sick. So we turn to the “wonder-drugs” known as antibiotics. But at what cost? We “have also inherited a potentially harmful relaxed attitude toward medications, particularly evident in regard to antibiotics” (Levy, 2002, p. 69). These miracle cures are losing their effectiveness- losing effectiveness rapidly in fact. Furthermore, the cloud of antibiotic resistance looms ever nearer. It is not necessary to throw one’s hands up in frustration, as many physicians do. There are alternatives; we choose not to use them often simply because they are less convenient.

One such alternative to this issue lies in the psychological element of the patient cycle. Placebos have been shown to have similar results to actual medication in case studies. The implications of this for the non-medicinal treatment of infection are huge. As noted in The Antibiotic Paradox, that the fact that “non-medicinal approaches worked attests to the power of suggestion that can mobilize pressures in our own bodies and help relieve symptoms” (Levy, 2002, p. 59). If that power of suggestion can be harness and understood, the ability to treat patients using means other than medication will increase astonishingly.

Another alternative might be exploiting the antibacterial side effects of some medications. Medications can be utilized for uses other than exclusively what their intended purpose in formulation was. This expands the potential benefits of a single drug, and reduces the need for further pharmaceutical formulation and testing of new drugs. Furthermore, prior remedies should be re-examined for their potential contribution to modern medicine. In particular, herbal and folk remedies of the past hold promise for the future.

Thus far, so much focus has been on simply developing new medications. New remedies are preferable to old remedies. It is popularly accepted that new is better, but it should not be forgotten that there are still merits to medications of old. The following proposal outlines an attempt to reconcile the vast expanse that has developed between the chase for new medications and already existing alternatives and is divided into four sections: background, project, method, and primary schedule.

Background:

As bacterium continue to increase the resistances they hold, pharmaceutical companies are tasked to keep developing new antibiotics in response, with hopes that they might establish control over the bacteria for a length of time. Physicians are exhausting their options, and to little success due to years of misuse and frivolous prescriptions. As the antibiotic resistance arms race continues, the cost keeps rising- mortally and financially. Alternatives need to be addressed.

The placebo effect has been implicated in many aspects of medicine. One such study by E. G. Dimond, as noted in The Placebo Effect and Health: Combining Science and Compassionate Care, demonstrated this through “a small trial in eighteen patients, of which five had a sham operation…improvement occurred in ten of the thirteen ligated patients and in all of the sham-ligated patients” (Thompson, 2005, p. 133). If this is any indication of the power of mind, then it is worth exploring the psychological dimensions of the illness recovery process.

Herbal remedies have been shown to exhibit antibacterial properties. In a study entitled Antibacterial Properties of Chinese Herbal Medicines against Nosocomial Antibiotic Resistant Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Taiwan, over fifty herbs were tested for antibacterial properties in strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria. It was found that “26 of the 58 plant extracts

showed antimicrobial activity against all of the test strains. Ten out of the 26 plant extracts

possessed broad-spectrum antibacterial properties (96%) against the tested organisms” (Liu et al., 2007, p.6). This study is just one example of the research that has been done thus far in the area of herbs and their antibacterial potentials. What does this mean in the discussion of antibiotic resistance? It offers an option, an alternative to antibiotics. If herbs are able to perform functions similar to antibiotics, we then have a wider arsenal against bacteria. The above noted study used antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria as the test strains. The herbs acted against these hard to treat microbes. This activity provides another option in the search for ways to treat these hard to combat organisms.

The number of synthetic potions continues to climb, and for surely outnumbers those antibiotics based on more natural roots (i.e. pencillin). Herbs, on the other hand, are completely natural. Herbs hold certain promise for a treatment regimen much closer to nature. A more natural treatment regimen may be preferable based on the ecological damage that the introduction of synthetic medications into the environment can cause. Furthermore, treatment that is organically based reduces the need for costly synthetic material that can drive up the cost of medication, making treatment unavailable to the less fortunate populations.

Folk remedies have shown positive results as well. In a letter focusing on the use of an apricot juice concentrate named Effect of the Folk Remedy, Bainiku-ekisu, a Concentrate of

Prunus Mume Juice, on Helicobacter pylori Infection in Humans, the results held that there is an “antibacterial effect of Bainikuekisu on H. pylori in the human stomach” (Nakajima et al., 2006, p.1). This is an age old native remedy for diarrhea, yet it deserves to not be tossed in the discard pile with all remedies of old. These findings accentuate the importance of exploring natural ways to combat bacteria.

Project:

This study will attempt to reveal the healing effects of prior remedies, current medications that produce antibiotic properties as side effects, as well as the psychological implications of positive thinking and psychotherapy in diminishing reliance on antibiotics. This will be accomplished through research and compilation from primary sources.

Method:

Due to a lack of feasibility of any true research study of the success of alternative methods within the parameters of the course and student resources, research will be done through accessing primary sources such as books and scholarly journals. Relevant information will then be synthesized and presented in the form of an extended commentary, focusing on the potential advantages of alternative care of bacterial infection, as well as the drawback of said care. Sources will be cited using American Psychological Association format and submitted with the commentary.

Schedule:

Proposal September 27, 2010

Revisions submitted (if needed) October 4, 2010

Locate all possible resources October 15, 2010

Annotated Bibliography October 29, 2010

Primary arguments drafted November 11, 2010

First Draft November 24, 2010

Final Draft December 3, 2010

Portfolio December 13, 2010

Conclusion:

Though this study is by no means all-inclusive, in conducting this compilation of research the hope is to provide some alternatives. The fight between pharmaceutical companies and their ever evolving foe may never reach a decisive point in our favor, so it is therefore of utmost importance to establish alternative remedies for treating infection, before antibiotic effectiveness is unintentionally wiped out completely due to resistance to all new antibiotics. It is no longer a matter simply of theory: it is a matter of life.

References:

Ching-Shen, L., Thau-Ming, C., Cheng-Hong, Y., Hsueh-wei, C., Chia-Hong, C., & Li-Yeh, C. (2007). Antibacterial Properties of Chinese Herbal Medicines against Nosocomial Antibiotic Resistant Strains of Pseudo,onas aeruginosa in Taiwan. American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 35 (6), 1047-1060. Retrieved from Academic Premier Search database.

Levy, S. (2002). The antibiotic paradox: how the misuse of antibiotics destroys their curative powers. Cambridge: Perseus Publishing.

Nakajima, S., Fujita, K., Inoue, Y.. Nishio, M., & Seto, Y. (2006). “Effect of Folk Remedy, Bainiku-akisu, a Concentrate of Prunus mume Juice, on Helicobacter pylori Infection in Humans.” Helicobacter 11 (6), 589-591. Retrieved from Academic Premier Search database.

Thompson, W.G. (2005). The placebo effect and health: combining science and compassionate care. Amherst: Prometheus Books