New findings about comparing the effects of antibiotic therapy and phage therapy on memory and hippocampal pyramidal cells in rats

BACKGROUND: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a significant cause of infection in burn wounds. Antibiotics are widely used to treat infectious diseases, and alongside their therapeutic benefits, they can damage host cells. Significant side effects, such as nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity, are observed in 60% of patients treated with colistin. Therefore, using a suitable alternative instead of antibiotics is paramount. This study aimed to investigate the effects of phage therapy and antibiotic therapy on memory function in rats with P. aeruginosa infected burn wounds. METHODS: Adult male rats were divided into three groups: (1) infected without treatment (control), (2) infected and treated with colistin antibiotic (3,000,000 international units/kg/day), and (3) infected and treated with 100 μL of phage suspension (approximately 10(9) PFU/mL). In all animals, after anesthesia, a third‐degree burn was created in the back area. One hour later, treatment was performed for seven consecutive days. Passive avoidance test, novel object recognition test, locomotion activity, hippocampal neuron count, and oxidative stress measurement in blood serum were performed. RESULTS: In antibiotic‐treated group memory recall, recognition index, number of healthy neurons in CA1, CA2, and CA3 hippocampus areas and the amounts of MDA, and FRAP significantly decreased compared with the control group. The phage‐treated group was not shown any harmful effect on the memory process, number of healthy hippocampal neurons, and showed more positive effects in blood serum examinations compared with the antibiotic group. CONCLUSIONS: Phage therapy could be a safe and effective alternative to antibiotics in the treatment of burn‐related infections.