Researchers Develop Computer Models to Target Antibiotics Precisely

Researchers at the UVA School of Medicine are developing computer models that could give antibiotics a better chance of overcoming resistance.

The computer models are intended to give the antibiotics “laser-like precision to target only specific bacteria in specific parts of the body.” Currently, antibiotics “kill bacteria indiscriminately,” but an “increasing number of dangerous bugs are growing resistant, threatening one of modern medicine’s most important weapons against disease.”

This approach from UVA would “dramatically limit how often bacteria are exposed to antibiotics, reducing the chance they could become resistant to antibiotics. Further, the approach would represent a significant step forward for precision medicine, allowing doctors to better tailor treatments to individual patients’ needs.”

In order to develop this approach, researchers “developed sophisticated computer models of every human bacterial pathogen with sufficient genetic information available.” Those models were then analyzed and shared traits were highlighted. This “yielded the discovery that bacteria in certain parts of the body, such as the stomach, tended to share metabolic properties. Basically, where they live shapes how they function.” Using this data, doctors “may be able to target specific types of bacteria in specific areas, reducing the need for broad-spectrum antibiotics.”

This approach has already been found to “inhibit the growth of harmful stomach bugs in lab experiments.”