Antibiotics Taken During Infancy May Affect a Person’s Gut Health in Adulthood

A new study published recently has shown that early life exposure to antibiotics in neonatal mouse models has long-term effects on their enteric nervous system, microbiota, and gut infection.

Preterm and low birth weight infants are regularly given antibiotics to prevent, not only treat, infections they have a high risk of developing, a ScienceDaily report specified.

It means that babies given antibiotics may grow up to develop gastrointestinal issues. This finding by the team of researchers from the Department of Anatomy and Psychology at the University of Melbourne is the first to demonstrate that antibiotics given to neonatal mice have these lingering effects resulting in disturbed gastrointestinal function, which includes the transmission of motility through the gut, as well as symptoms similar to diarrhea in adulthood.

Diarrhea-Like Symptoms

The scientists gave mice an oral dose of vancomycin daily for the first 10 days of their lives. They were then raised normally until they turned young adults, and their gut tissue was examined to gauge its structure, microbiota, nervous system, and function.

The investigators discovered that changes were dependent on the gender of the mice, as well. In the study published in the Journal of Physiology, the authors discovered that the females had long whole gut transit and the males had lower fecal weight than the control group.

Both males and females were found to have greater fecal water content, which is a symptom similar to diarrhea.

Essentially, mice have a lot of similarities to humans, although they are born with more immature guts compared to humans and have accelerated growth because of their shorter lifespans.

Effects of Antibiotics on the Enteric Nervous System

The mice's microbiota and nervous systems are less complicated compared to humans. Thus, the findings cannot be directly linked to human children and infants.

The study investigators will be conducting additional research on the mechanisms of antibiotics on the gut, the causes of the gender-specific actions, and if the use of early life antibiotics affects the metabolism and function of the brain.

According to Dr. Jaime Foong, lead psychologist, they are very excited about the results of their research which demonstrate that antibiotics given after birth could have lengthened effects on the enteric nervous system.

It offers further evidence of the essentiality of microbiota on gut health and could introduce new targets for the advancement of antibiotic treatment to extremely young children.

Why and When Babies Need Antibiotics

A report from the Parents website specified that babies need antibiotics only if they are experiencing common ailments.

One of the indications that an infant needs antibiotics is a high fever from a bacterial infection. A fever specifies that the immune system fights off germs, a medical expert explained.

It is a good thing, although temperatures that rise extremely high may signal a more severe bacterial infection. If this is the case, antibiotics such as cefotaxime, ampicillin, or both may be necessary.

Related information about exposure to antibiotics is shown on the American Society of Microbiology's YouTube video below:

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