WASHINGTON (AP) – Bacteria live on everyone’s skin, and new research shows some friendly germs produce natural antibiotics that ward off their disease-causing cousins. Now scientists are mixing the good bugs into lotions in hopes of spreading protection.
In one early test, those customized creams guarded five patients with a kind of itchy eczema against risky bacteria that were gathering on their cracked skin, researchers reported Wednesday.
“It’s boosting the body’s overall immune defenses,” said Dr. Richard Gallo, dermatology chairman at the University of California, San Diego, who is leading the work.
We share our bodies with trillions of microbes that live on our skin, in our noses, in the gut. This community – what scientists call the microbiome – plays critical roles in whether we stay healthy or become more vulnerable to various diseases. Learning what makes a healthy microbiome is a huge field of research, and already scientists are altering gut bacteria to fight diarrhea-causing infections.
Wednesday’s research sheds new light on the skin’s microbiome – suggesting that one day it may be possible to restore the right balance of good bugs to treat skin disorders, too.