Tracing Personalized Health Curves during Infections
2011

Understanding Health and Microbe Interactions During Infections

publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): David S. Schneider

Primary Institution: Stanford University

Hypothesis

Can the concept of tolerance in host-microbe interactions be applied to individual infections to improve patient outcomes?

Conclusion

The study suggests that using health-by-microbe curves can provide new insights into the dynamics of infections and recovery.

Supporting Evidence

  • The study highlights the importance of understanding the relationship between health and microbe load during infections.
  • It proposes a new method for visualizing health changes over the course of an infection.
  • The concept of tolerance can help differentiate between mechanisms that clear pathogens and those that affect health.

Takeaway

When we get sick, it's important to understand how our health changes with the number of germs in our body, and this can help doctors treat us better.

Methodology

The study discusses the use of health-by-microbe curves to analyze infections over time.

Limitations

The approach may not be applicable to infections where microbes do not replicate or are difficult to measure.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pbio.1001158

Want to read the original?

Access the complete publication on the publisher's website

View Original Publication