Preventive Medicine: Probiotics' Medicinal Use Growing

Summary

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As a scientist, I have a deep respect for the value of scientific evidence. But, as a doctor, I also respect, and am influenced by, the experiences of individual patients, or anecdotes. This week, my inspiration is an anecdote. The patient, as it happens, is me.

Several weeks ago, a common bacterial infection called Mycoplasma pneumoniae went through the Katz household. I was one of its victims, and had a nasty respiratory infection. I put myself on antibiotics, and recovered in short order.

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Extract

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Preventive Medicine: Probiotics' Medicinal Use Growing

Antibiotics, as you likely know, are drugs that kill bacteria. But what you may not realize is that these powerful and potentially life-saving drugs are rather indiscriminate, and do a lot of collateral damage. Specifically, they kill with friendly fire the friendly b...

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