Staphylococcus epidermidis can enter the body through skin wounds
Scott Karmazin/Alami
A patch that stimulates the skin with electrical pulses can be used before or after surgery to prevent bacteria on the skin from causing blood poisoning, thereby reducing our reliance on antibiotics.
Staphylococcus epidermidis Bacteria usually live harmlessly on human skin, but if they enter the body through skin cracks after surgery or due to a condition such as psoriasis, They can cause blood infectionswhich can lead to dangerously low blood pressure.
Antibiotics can prevent and treat these infections, but this has led to the development of antibiotic-resistant strains Staphylococcus epidermidis is emerging. Find another way, Tian Bozhi The University of Chicago and colleagues considered the potential of electrical pulses, Has been previously shown to kill bacteria.
The researchers created 1-millimeter-wide square plastic patches, each containing gold electrodes that when connected produce electrical pulses that humans cannot feel. Then they spread a Staphylococcus epidermidis Five sterilized pigskin samples were applied to each skin and a patch was placed on each skin.
After shocking the skin for 10 seconds every 10 minutes for 18 hours, the team found Staphylococcus epidermidis These samples were 10 times less concentrated than other samples that were patched but did not deliver electrical pulses.
This intervention also disrupts the ability of bacteria to combine to form a biofilm layer, which is associated with more severe infections.
Results suggest that patches that can theoretically be cut to any size could reduce the risk of severe drug resistance Staphylococcus epidermidis Tian said, infection.
Widespread use of antibiotics is leading to increased resistance, and this alternative approach could help slow the crisis, says Asali Zombo at the University of Warwick, UK. But he said it’s unclear how the patches affect other bacteria on the skin that can also cause blood poisoning.
Tian’s team plans to explore this in further studies and hopes to test the method on live animals in about a year.
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