ADJUNCTS TO ANTIBACTERIAL THERAPY

Strategies of augmenting or attenuating the immune system's response t o infection are promising potential methods to enhance antibacterial t herapy. Many of these new therapies are natural cytokines, such as the hematopoietic growth factors and interferons, which upregulate the im mune response. Other examples include replacement therapies, such as i mmune globulin, and downregulators of the immune response, such as cor ticosteroids. In the near future it may be possible to adjust the host response to microbial infection to maximally inhibit the microbe whil e minimizing inflammatory damage.