Phage therapy for bacterial prostatitis
Patients with chronic bacterial prostatitis often face a double problem: they suffer not only from the symptoms of the disease, but also from the difficulties in treating the infection. The lining of the prostate is impermeable to many classes of antibiotics, so the range of medications available to treat bacterial prostatitis is very limited. Another problem is the increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, as well as the formation of bacterial biofilms, which greatly complicate antibiotic therapy for this condition. Therefore, treating chronic recurrent prostatitis is challenging. Today, bacteriophages can be considered as an alternative to antibiotics in the treatment of this pathology. An article was published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology,
A 33-year-old man diagnosed with bacterial prostatitis with typical symptoms, in particular a daily temperature increase up to 37.5°C, had pathogenic bacteria detected in 19 samples of prostatic secretion and semen: methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus mitisand others. The patient received 5 cycles of antibiotic therapy (oral and IV), all of which were ineffective and did not provide sustained symptom relief. As a result, he was prescribed symptomatic therapy—NSAIDs and analgesics to improve well-being—and the cause of the inflammation was never eliminated. Ultimately, the man decided to try phage therapy and contacted the G. Eliava Phage Therapy Center in Tbilisi (Georgia).
As a result of careful testing, phage preparations specific to the pathogens present were selected. The patient underwent 3 cycles of phage therapy, each lasting 3 months. Medications such as Pyo-, Intesti-, Fercy-, Ses-, Enko-, and Staphylococcal bacteriophages were used in various forms—oral (solution), rectal (suppositories), and as instillation into the urethra (solution). The treatment regimen was adjusted depending on the examination results. A detailed phage therapy regimen can be found in the articlehttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2021.692614/full
On the fifth day of treatment, the patient’s temperature normalized and no longer rose above > 37°C. Bacteriological analyses and imaging studies showed significant improvement during and after treatment with bacteriophages. These improvements correlated with a reduction in symptoms.
