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Ooh, I don’t like alligators, but if they can save my life, I’ll have to be nice to the critters. Researchers at McNeese State University in Louisiana have found that proteins in alligator blood may provide new antibiotics for the treatment of diabetic ulcers, severe burns and antibiotic resistant “superbugs.” It has been suggested the proteins could also help Candida yeast infections in AIDS patients and transplant recipients, with weakened immune systems. They still make me nervous.
"There's a real possibility that you could be treated with an alligator blood product one day."
The researchers believe their research could result in antibacterial or antifungal drugs, including pills and creams, for fighting infections.
Alligator blood creams, they argue, could conceivably be rubbed onto the foot ulcers of patients with diabetes to help prevent the type of uncontrolled infections that lead to amputations as well as to the skin of burn patients to keep infections at bay until damaged skin can heal.
(inthenews)
References: inthenews
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