Healthy Living

Cystic Fibrosis Patients Have More Bacteria—Good and Bad—In the Lungs

Final thoughts

Study of the lung microbiome is still in relatively infant stages, though the results of the study published in European Respiratory Journal suggest that there are promising new discoveries on the horizon. For example, no one has studied the effects of targeted antibiotic therapy on bad bacteria in the lungs, and as previously mentioned, studies are just now being launched into the reconfiguration or reengineering of human microbiomes.

For now, McColley believes that the initial study is a critical starting point in conducting future studies into the relationship between the lung microbiome and cystic fibrosis. She says that the study results “could have important impact on generating hypotheses and designing intervention studies to improve outcomes for patients with cystic fibrosis.” Such studies might lead to better outcomes for individuals with cystic fibrosis, and possibly to the cure that has been desperately sought after.

References

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20171120/Cystic-fibrosis-patients-have-more-good-and-bad-bacteria-in-their-lungs-study-finds.aspx

https://www.luriechildrens.org/en-us/news-events/Pages/study_of_lung_bacteria_in_cystic_fibrosis_patients_508.aspx

http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201402-050AS