Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-10-22

Probiotics can help patients recover from cardiovascular diseases and reduce the

damage caused by antibiotic overdose. That is according to the latest research from Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s top research body.

Professor Patrick Hsieh, along with a team of researchers, recently found that, after they used antibiotics to kill off all the bacteria in the digestive tract of mice, their mortality rate saw a significant increase. More specifically, most of the mice died of cardiovascular diseases, such as myocardial infarction and heart rupture.

Professor Hsieh says they found that supplementing the mice with probiotics, such as lactic acid bacteria, helps improve their heart functions and repair damage. The mice also turned out to be much more resilient to the damage from antibiotics.

As antibiotics are one of the most widely used medications in Taiwan, the finding is a warning for many, especially those who suffer from cardiovascular diseases. Professor Hsieh advises patients to be careful not to overdose on antibiotics. He says he is looking to develop new treatments that take advantage of the newly found benefit of probiotics.
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