News from the World of Science

Patients suffering from advanced dementia are seven times more likely to receive antibiotics in their final two weeks of life compared to the two months preceding their deaths, according to a study by researchers at Harvard Medical School.

The study, which appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine, highlights a potential problem in terminal care that has implications for public health, as the overuse of antibiotics contributes to the development of pathogens that are resistant to drugs.

“Huge amounts of antimicrobials in people who are very, very near the end of life raise questions both about the individual benefit and burden and about what is important on a broader level about preventing antimicrobial resistance,” Medical School professor Susan L. Mitchell told The Boston Globe.

The researchers said that there is little evidence to support the notion that using antibiotics will increase the length of the patient’s life, while there is ample evidence to support the fear that widespread use of antibiotics can breed bacteria that are resistant to drugs therapy.

A LIVING EDUCATION

Recent gains in life expectancy may not benefit the less-educated, according to a Harvard Medical School study released this week.

Researchers compared 1990s and 1980s data from death certificates, the U.S. Census, and a national mortality study and found that while Americans with 12 or more years of education saw increases in life expectancy throughout those decades, their peers with fewer years of schooling did not see an increase in the 1990s.

Smoking in particular has contributed to the widening gap, according to the authors, David M. Cutler, an applied economics professor, and Ellen Meara, an assistant professor of health care policy at the Mecical School. They cited education-related differences in cigarette use as a key factor.

The researchers concluded that remedying the inequality in life expectancy may necessitate “larger and better-targeted efforts to push successful health interventions into less-educated groups.”

ADVANTAGE AEROSOL

An aerosol version of the widely-used injected Tuberculosis (TB) vaccine may be more effective against the disease, according to a recent Harvard School of Public Health study.

The scientists administered both vaccine types to guinea pigs and found TB symptoms in only one percent of lung and spleen tissue from animals receiving the aerosal treatment, compared to five and 10 percent for those that had been injected.

Vaccines administered as oral mists can potentially surmount hurdles, such as a need for refrigerated storage, that limit distribution of traditional vaccines, according to the study. Many TB cases occur in underdeveloped countries with poor health infrastructure that limit vaccination efforts.

For recent research, faculty profiles, and a look at the issues facing Harvard scientists, check out The Crimson's science page.