Hello all,
I am the senior author of the study on Steno on which the news article quoted in this tread was based.
I noticed this thread through Google.
I noticed a certain amount of worry in your posts about Steno, and so I just wanted to let you know that several studies in the US and elsewhere have been performed to find out the effect of Steno colonization on lung function and morbidity in CF patients, and none of them found that Steno actually causes a significant effect, unlike B. cepacia, for example. It just seems to like to sit in the cf lung.
Steno is a threat to life when it causes bloodstream infections.
Clearly, when a study says something, there might be odd cases that buck the trend, and some clinicians are more likely to be concerned by Steno colonization than others depending upon their own personal experience. Also, what has happened in the past might not necessarily continue to happen in the future, but I thought you might be interested in this information nonetheless.
Minocycline would seem to be a reasonable drug to try and stop Steno colonization at the moment since generally Steno is sensitive to this drug (though resistant to most others). However, minocycline resistant mutants do arise, which might explain the fluctuations in sensitivity some of you are reporting. It is also known that Steno colonization can suddenly stop for no obvious reason, and it may well be that subsequent re-colonization is with a different strain that may have a different sensitivity profile. Strains are common in the environment, and there is lots of variability between them.
I'm not a clinician, so can't give specific advice. However, I would not want the media's interpretation of my research team's work to lead to you sitting at home worrying.
With best wishes and apologies for interupting your discussion,
M B Avison, PhD. University of Bristol, UK.
www.bris.ac.uk/bcare/BGG
I am the senior author of the study on Steno on which the news article quoted in this tread was based.
I noticed this thread through Google.
I noticed a certain amount of worry in your posts about Steno, and so I just wanted to let you know that several studies in the US and elsewhere have been performed to find out the effect of Steno colonization on lung function and morbidity in CF patients, and none of them found that Steno actually causes a significant effect, unlike B. cepacia, for example. It just seems to like to sit in the cf lung.
Steno is a threat to life when it causes bloodstream infections.
Clearly, when a study says something, there might be odd cases that buck the trend, and some clinicians are more likely to be concerned by Steno colonization than others depending upon their own personal experience. Also, what has happened in the past might not necessarily continue to happen in the future, but I thought you might be interested in this information nonetheless.
Minocycline would seem to be a reasonable drug to try and stop Steno colonization at the moment since generally Steno is sensitive to this drug (though resistant to most others). However, minocycline resistant mutants do arise, which might explain the fluctuations in sensitivity some of you are reporting. It is also known that Steno colonization can suddenly stop for no obvious reason, and it may well be that subsequent re-colonization is with a different strain that may have a different sensitivity profile. Strains are common in the environment, and there is lots of variability between them.
I'm not a clinician, so can't give specific advice. However, I would not want the media's interpretation of my research team's work to lead to you sitting at home worrying.
With best wishes and apologies for interupting your discussion,
M B Avison, PhD. University of Bristol, UK.
www.bris.ac.uk/bcare/BGG