Vitamin B3 May Help Kill Superbugs

Medical News Today (MNT) ^ | August 25, 2012 | Catharine Paddock, PhD

[CutePuppy]

Nicotinamide, commonly known as vitamin B3, may help the innate immune system kill antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria, the so-called "superbugs". In lab work done with mice and human blood, researchers found high doses of the vitamin increased the ability of immune cells to kill the bacteria by 1,000 times.

The discovery opens the door to a new arsenal of tools for dealing with antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, such as those caused by methicillin-resistant S. aureus or MRSA, that have killed thousands of people around the world. They are increasing in hospitals and nursing homes, and also rising in prisons, among athletes, people in the military, and other places where many people are in close and frequent contact.

The team members behind the work are from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University (OSU), the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and other research centers. They write about it in a paper published online this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. ..... < snip >

..... Potential for Use with Antibiotics ..... < snip >

..... "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," ..... < snip >

..... Some believe the widespread use of antibiotics, coupled with mismanagement of their doses, creates an evolutionary pressure that helps increase the emergence and spread of resistant strains. ..... < snip >

..... Gene Mutation Causes Vulnerability to Bacterial Infection ..... < snip >

..... nicotinamide can "switch on" some of the disabled anti-microbial genes ..... < snip >

..... The researchers found that in human blood, vitamin B3 was able to wipe out the staph infection in a few hours. ..... < snip >

..... "This vitamin is surprisingly effective in fighting off and protecting against one of today's most concerning public health threats."

Approaches like this could help reduce dependence on antibiotics, he added.

The doses used in the study were megadoses, at therapeutic levels, which are much much bigger than the amount of vitamin B3 in a normal diet. However, such levels have been used safely in humans for other medical reasons.

But this fact, together with the findings of this study, are not sufficient reason for people to start medicating themselves with high doses of vitamin B3. ..... < snip >

[Jane Long]

Ditto what CutePuppy said.

[CutePuppy]

I get my nicotine this way:

:~)

That said... I am sure you know, but some people may get confused by the term nicotinic acid which has nothing in common with nicotine, except for [relatively mild] vasodilating effect.

[Carriage Hill]

(;^{O)

[neverdem]

Thanks for the ping bump & a ping

C/EBPε mediates nicotinamide-enhanced clearance of Staphylococcus aureus in mice

FReepmail me if you want on or off my combined microbiology/immunology ping list.

[acapesket]

Sucks when you are menopausal and a drinker...scared the living daylights out of me first time. I just stick with the B complex now that gets me to that level.

No flush!

[neverdem]

I’m taking niacin because every statin on the market gives me muscle aches (the liver damage warning symptom).

The liver pathology is separate and distinct from the muscle pathology.

Order liver function tests before starting statin therapy, 12 weeks after initiation, with any dose increase, and periodically for long-term maintenance therapy.

A drug handbook said at 6 - 12 weeks for 6 months, then periodically.

[Democrat_media]

bfl

[neverdem]

Of these, Candida Albicans is one of the most aggressive and difficult to displace.

That's a fungus, not a bacteria.

[null and void]

The liver pathology is separate and distinct from the muscle pathology.

Yep, but the muscles ache due to the bloodstream accumulating toxins the impaired liver either dumps into the bloodstream or can no longer filter out.

At least that's my understanding.

"Doc, it hurts when I do this (take statins)."
"Well, don't do that!"

[CutePuppy]

That's a fungus, not a bacteria.

True, my bad. While talking about bacteria I interchangeably used the wrong type of microorganism, in the right context - effect of antibiotics and probiotics on gut microflora.

Speaking of which - Vitamin B3 also seems to be a powerful antifungal that is being used or considered in conjunction with treatments of resistant Candida overgrowth.

Vitamin B3 as a Novel Approach to Treat Fungal Infections - Science Daily, 2010 August 10

A team of scientists from the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the University of Montreal have identified vitamin B3 as a potential antifungal treatment.

Led by IRIC Principal Investigators Martine Raymond, Alain Verreault and Pierre Thibault, in collaboration with Alaka Mullick, from the Biotechnology Research Institute of the National Research Council Canada, the study is the subject of a recent article in Nature Medicine.

Infections by the yeast Candida albicans represent a significant public health problem and a common complication in immunodeficient individuals such as AIDS patients, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and recipients of organ transplants. While some treatments are available, their efficacy can be compromised by the emergence of drug-resistant strains.

The current study shows that a C. albicans enzyme, known as Hst3, is essential to the growth and survival of the yeast. Researchers found that genetic or pharmacological inhibition of Hst3 with nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3, strongly reduced C. albicans virulence in a mouse model. Both normal and drug-resistant strains of C. albicans were susceptible to nicotinamide. In addition, nicotinamide prevented the growth of other pathogenic Candida species and Aspergillus fumigatus (another human pathogen), thus demonstrating the broad antifungal properties of nicotinamide. ..... < snip >

[neverdem]

Fungizone, aka Amphotericin B, the drug for systemic Candida infections, is called by some amphoterrible because it’s bad news. Thanks for the link & info.

[neverdem]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

myopathy and statins not hepatitis

That search strategy gets 1381 citations at Pubmed, i.e. muscle pain or weakness without liver damage.

[grey_whiskers]

Of these, Candida Albicans is one of the most aggressive and difficult to displace.

That's a fungus, not a bacteria.

In other words, then, there's a fungus among us.

Cheers!

[editor-surveyor]

Niacinamide is commonly used in multiple doses to roll back incipient dementia (alzheimers).

Could be a good move to take it regularly.

[Revolting cat!]

I have a problem with ants invading the house. I spread out tablets of B3, outside and inside, and it didn’t help any. What to do?

[Revolting cat!]

B3?

[a fool in paradise]

Better get a new house.

[Slings and Arrows]

[CutePuppy]

Niacinamide is commonly used in multiple doses to roll back incipient dementia (alzheimers).

Correct. Doctor Daniel G. Amen, the preeminent brain-imaging specialist and brain expert at Amen Clinic and UC of Irvine, also warns against deficiencies of Vitamins B6, B9 (folic acid) and B12 for maintaining memory functions.

He also emphasizes that about two thirds of the people are deficient in Vitamin D3 which he calls a "memory vitamin" because it appears to actually remove beta-amyloid (protein "plaques" and "tangles") from the brain and cerebral blood vessels.

Studies have also shown that adults with optimal levels of vitamin D performed better on cognitive and brain-processing speed tests. Dr. Amen recommends 2,000IU daily, but checking the blood level first since individuals synthesize and absorb vitamin D3 differently - same, of course, should be said for most other vitamins, supplements and medications.

[CutePuppy]

Contrary to popular belief, vitamins B3 and D3 in tablet form are not a panacea and are particularly ill-suited for ant invasion problems.

What to do?

Studies are ongoing but some suggest boric acid. Obama administration offered an innovative solution of designing ObamaCare experiment as a way of creating a distraction big enough for almost anyone to forget about ants invasion.

The results of ObamaCare experiment at this point are inconclusive since ObamaCare hasn't yet been fully implemented, and may prove to be YAP (yet another problem) on top of the anthill, rather than distraction.