Medical Implications of Biofilms

ISBN: 9781107403451 出版年：2003 页码：330 Michael Wilson Deirdre Devine Cambridge University Press

Human tissues often support large, complex microbial communities growing as biofilms that can cause a variety of infections. As a result of an increased use of implanted medical devices, the incidence of these biofilm-associated diseases is increasing: the non-shedding surfaces of these devices provide ideal substrata for colonisation by biofilm-forming microbes. The consequences of this mode of growth are far-reaching. As microbes in biofilms exhibit increased tolerance towards antimicrobial agents and decreased susceptibility to host defense systems, biofilm-associated diseases are becoming increasingly difficult to treat. Not surprisingly, therefore, interest in biofilms has increased dramatically in recent years. The application of newmicroscopic andmolecular techniques has revolutionised our understanding of biofilm structure, composition, organisation, and activities, resulting in important advances in the prevention and treatment of biofilmrelated diseases. The purpose of this book is to bring these advances to the attention of clinicians andmedical researchers.