Antibiotic treatment that inhibits the development of colitis prevents growth failure in T/I mice.

<p>A. Mean body weight from weaning until 8 weeks of age is shown for female T/I mice that received food containing amoxicillin, clarithromycin, metronidazole, and omeprazole (antibiotics) or matched food lacking these drugs (placebo). The numbers of mice studied were: T/I, antibiotics (n = 6); and T/I, placebo (n = 11). SEMs averaged 0.5 across all days and groups; error bars are omitted for clarity. Although weights for both groups were statistically similar soon after weaning, the weights of the T/I mice that received placebo were significantly lower at 8 weeks of age than those for T/I mice that received antibiotics (p = 0.04; Student’s t-test). B. Colitis histologic scores are shown for these same mice. Each point represents a single mouse studied. A score of ≤12 indicates absence of colitis, while scores ≥ 25 indicate moderate to severe colitis. * indicates a significant difference from mice treated with placebo; p = 0.0003 (Mann-Whitney non-parametric test).