July 13, 2006 -- Being slimed may take on a whole new meaning for children
who suffer from chronic middle ear infections.
A new study shows that chronic middle ear infections may be caused by a thin
biofilm that coats the middle ear and forms a slime-like barrier that prevents
the body's natural defenses from fighting infection-causing bacteria.
"It appears that in many cases recurrent disease stems not from re-infection
as was previously thought and which forms the basis for conventional treatment,
but from a persistent biofilm," says researcher Garth Ehrlich, PhD, executive
director of the Allegheny-Singer Research Institute's Center for the Genomic
Sciences, in a news release.
Treatment of ear infections normally includes use of antibiotic drugs. But researchers say the results of this study
may lead to a new approach in treating chronic middle ear infections.
"Given that bacteria living in biofilms are metabolically resistant to
antibiotics, this study makes a definitive, scientifically based statement
against the use of these drugs to treat children with chronic ear infections.
It simply does not help the child and increases the risk of breeding more
resistant strains of bacteria," says Ehrlich.
In the study, published in The Journal of the American Medical
Association, researchers examined the inside of ears from 26 children
having tubes implanted in their ears to treat chronic middle ear infections and
compared them with a group of eight patients undergoing other forms of inner
Evidence of the slimy biofilms was found in 92% of samples taken from
children with chronic ear infection. None of these biofilms was found in the
Researchers say the slimy films protect infection-causing bacteria from the
body's natural defenses and cause the body to produce a gooey fluid that can
become trapped in the ear, which is also resistant to antibiotics.
Although antibiotics may be effective at treating ear infections in children
who don't have these biofilms or acute infections, researchers say the results
of this study suggest that the drugs won't help children whose chronic middle
ear infections are caused by these films. Implanting tubes to aid in drainage
of ear fluid and slime may be a better option for these children.
They say future therapies for biofilm-related ear infections may include
using good bacteria to prevent the formation of biofilms.