The work may offer a new avenue of attack against the growing number of ‘superbugs,’ according to the researchers.
The research found that high doses of this vitamin increased by 1,000 times the ability of immune cells to kill staph bacteria. The work was done both in laboratory animals and with human blood.
The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation by researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, UCLA, and other institutions. The research was supported by several grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Adrian Gombart, an associate professor in OSU’s Linus Pauling Institute, said: “This is potentially very significant, although we still need to do human studies. Antibiotics are wonder drugs, but they face increasing problems with resistance by various types of bacteria, especially Staphylococcus aureus.
“This could give us a new way to treat staph infections that can be deadly, and might be used in combination with current antibiotics,” Gombart said. “It’s a way to tap into the power of the innate immune system and stimulate it to provide a more powerful and natural immune response.”
However, there is no evidence yet that normal diets or conventional-strength supplements of vitamin B3 would have any beneficial effect in preventing or treating bacterial infection, Gombart said, and people should not start taking high doses of the vitamin.
Source: Oregon State University
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