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That article is fairly content free except they did link the paper: http://mbio.asm.org/content/7/1/e01842-15.full http://mbio.asm.org/content/7/1/e01842-15.fu
by hobs 11y ago
That article is fairly content free except they did link the paper:
http://mbio.asm.org/content/7/1/e01842-15.full http://mbio.asm.org/content/7/1/e01842-15.full
* Some show antimicrobial or other therapeutic properties, and they have a long history in the treatment of human diseases (5, 6). However, their use is considered to be “naturopathic” medicine, and to date, none have been approved by regulatory agencies for therapeutic applications.
* This deposit differs from other clays such as kaolinite or bentonite. X-ray diffraction shows that KC possesses a low clay mineral content (~24% [wt]), dominated by the presence of biotite (unpublished data). Moreover, as a natural clay deposit, KC has a significant resident microbial community (1,000 to 3,000 taxa), which includes Actinobacteria, which are known to make bioactive small molecules and may contribute to KC activity by the production of antimicrobials (unpublished data).
* More recently, the antibacterial activities and physicochemical characteristics of other therapeutic clay minerals have been investigated in the laboratory (11, 12). Haydel et al. reported on the broad-spectrum in vitro antibacterial activities of a natural iron-rich clay (CsAgO2) that was used to treat patients with Buruli ulcer (12).
* We suggest that the broad-spectrum antibacterial activity of KC may be a valuable option for the treatment of ESKAPE infections, especially in last-resort situations
Looks like they are saying this clay has some interesting physical, microbial, and mineral properties, in other words, it seems like they dont have any idea of why it works but are pretty sure it does.
- colechristensen 11y ago>it seems like they dont have any idea of why it works but are pretty sure it does This is true for a large volume of medical treatments
- theon144 11y agoIs this really true? That we don't know, or only have a very vague idea about the pharmacodynamics, or simply the mechanism of action of various treatments, so the process is more about establishing that they aren't harmful?
- foota 11y agoFrom what I've read about some medicines it's something like "We originally used it for this but it turns out it stops this too! (we're not entirely sure why)"
- withdavidli 11y agoOff-label prescription is prescribing a drug for non-intended purpose. Viagra for example, was originally studied for high blood pressure. I've also seen a tv program where they visited a pharmacy company's lab that's literally machines mixing random drugs in order to find their next product. The place was the size of a walmart.
- Arnt 11y agoYou may have heard that many medicines are found by testing untold number of Amazonian species for medicinal properties. That sort of search finds things that work, not the reasons why.
- darpa_escapee 11y agoWe know the basic mechanism of action behind SSRIs, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that can tell you definitively why they can be effective. They are some of the most prescribed drugs in America. They have a better safety profile than MAOIs, despite that the latter can be more effective in treating depression / anxiety.
- astazangasta 11y agoThere was a theory behind why SSRIs work that existed when they were developed (the serotonin theory of depression), but this theory was later shown to be wrong - basically, SSRIs do modulate serotonin but that has no relation to whether you are depressed; if SSRIs do work, its through another mechanism. In addition the efficacy is greatly overstated; large follow-up studies have shown that they only have measurable effects on the most severely depressed individuals. The vast majority of people being prescribed SSRIs do not fall in this category and likely receive no benefit beyond placebo.