n=16 Experimental phage therapy saves Tom's life - a podcast by UC San Diego Health

It’s a privilege to share the story of Tom Patterson, PhD, and his wife, Steffanie Strathdee, PhD, both faculty members at UC San Diego School of Medicine. In November 2015, they were vacationing in Egypt when Patterson contracted a life-threatening, multidrug-resistant bacterial infection. He was transported to UC San Diego Health, where he was treated intravenously with an experimental cocktail of phages — viruses that specifically destroy bacteria. He began improving almost immediately, emerging from a months-long coma. While this is only one patient (“N Equals One”!), Patterson’s experience opens a fresh avenue of research aimed at finding alternatives to traditional antibiotics, amidst the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance.

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