GLOSSARY
Antibiotic: A type of drug used in the treatment of a bacterial infection. “How did and
how do all these drugs perform their miracles? Antibiotics work in three general ways.
One, as exemplified by penicillin and its descendants, is by attacking the machinery
used by bacteria to create their cell walls...The second mechanism is inhibiting the way
bacteria make the proteins that perform all of the important functions of the bacterial
cell. The third is interfering specifically with the ability of bacteria to divide and
reproduce, thereby inhibiting their doubling. With slower growth, they become less of a
threat so the host can mount an immune response to deal with them more easily...A
one-week course of an antibiotic can lead to persistence of resistant organisms more
than three years later and in sites far away from the intended target of the antibiotic.”
(Blaser 2015)
Antibiotic resistance: Also known as antimicrobial resistance, it refers to the resistance
of a microbe to a medication that used to be an effective treatment. Resistance “spreads
within bacterial communities in two general ways. First, it occurs through the growth of
organisms that have already acquired resistance—what we call vertical
transmission...Resistant genes can also transfer via sex, what we call horizontal
transmission. Some bacteria are reclusive and many bacterial species are promiscuous
and having sex all the time.” (Blaser 2015)
Bacteria: “ Bacteria are cells. They eat, breathe and reproduce.” (Blaser 2015)
Biofilm: “There are microbes that can form gelatin-like layers surrounding themselves.
These thick gels are called biofilms. Their composition varies, but biofilms can protect
the barrier from drying out or from excessive heat, or from the onslaught of immunity.”
(Blaser 2015)
Celiac disease: An autoimmune disorder of the small intestine. “It is plausible that
Celiac disease is increasing because the microbes that protect against allergic response
are disappearing...People who had recently developed Celiac disease were 40% more
likely to have been prescribed antibiotics in the preceding months.”
Clindamycin: “An antibiotic useful for the treatment of a number of bacterial
infections.” (Wikipedia 2016). It is “often given to ward off dental infections.” (Blaser
2015)
Diabetes: A group of metabolic diseases that have high blood sugar levels. “The rate of
type 1 diabetes is doubling every 20 years all over the developed world; moreover,
children are coming down with the disease at younger ages...Kids with diabetes: lose
weight rapidly, wet their beds, are constantly thirsty, and feel painfully exhausted.”
(Blaser 2015)