L4-5, s1 herniation, numbness down left leg for two years. should i put any hope in the new antibiotic research for herniated discs?

If you are having : Symptoms from herniated disc that fails to improve with conservative treatments, then see a spine surgeon, for evaluation, some of these may lead to permanent symptoms if not addressed appropriately. So make sure you are getting it evaluated. The antibiotic papers have multiple confounding variables, making their conclusion not reliable. Besides, at best, results may not be better than placebo.

Nope: The new antibiotic treatments are only for axial low back pain being caused by certain disc abnormalities on mri. It won't help at all with radicular pain. Consider an epidural steroid injection, discectomy surgery or spinal cord stimulator. Also meds such as Gabapentin (neurontin) and lyrica (pregabalin).

Consider Platelets: There are other options to help heal the discs to provide relief. Regenexx offers a Platelet based injection that helps quite abit and there are other traditional options like surgery or even spinal cord stimulation as options for treatment. Look up Regenexx.Com.