Researchers make key advance in fight against dangerous surgical site infections (Vitamin D in wounds helps stop staph)

Medical Xpress / Oregon State University / Molecular Pharmaceutics ^ | Feb. 25, 2022 | Steve Lundeberg / Yajuan Su et al

[ConservativeMind]

Scientists have made a key advance against dangerous and costly surgical site infections, the type of infection most commonly associated with health care procedures.

Each year in the U.S. alone, the researchers note, roughly 300,000 surgical patients develop an infection within 30 days of their operation, and more than 13,000 of those people die. The infections account for an estimated $10 billion in additional health care costs.

But researchers have uncovered a possible new preventative technique: adding an enzyme inhibitor to nanofiber-based wound dressings loaded with vitamin D, resulting in cells better producing an antimicrobial peptide.

"Because these wound dressings work by enhancing innate immune responses rather than by containing conventional, single-target antimicrobial compounds, they are less likely to contribute to drug resistance," said researcher Adrian Gombart.

Gombart and his collaborators have for years been probing how to use vitamin D to combat infection via wound dressings and sutures.

Vitamin D, fat soluble and present in very few foods—including the flesh of fatty fish, beef liver, cheese and egg yolks—promotes calcium absorption in the gut and is needed for bone health. Manufactured by the body when triggered by sunlight, it's also important for cell growth, neuromuscular function and inflammation reduction.

In this latest study, Gombart and collaborators tested wound dressings containing both the bioactive form of vitamin D—1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, or 1,25(OH)2D3—and another compound known as VID400.

Gombart earlier looked at bioactive vitamin D's role in promoting the body's production of the antimicrobial peptide LL-37, linked to a gene, CAMP, that's present in humans and other primates.

That research showed that the mice with the human CAMP gene displayed enhanced resistance to gut infections, and that staph infections on their skin could be successfully treated with the bioactive form of the vitamin.

[ConservativeMind]

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[jimtorr]

I take 1,000 IU vitamin D3 daily. Maybe that’s why I don’t get sick.

[Secret Agent Man]

Buy your vitamin d before they take it off the shelves.

Idiots here scared people will somehow od on it.

Also, if you can get it with vitamin k2 as well, its better.

[jimfr]

I have not looked to see if it is still available but there use to be an A&D ointment, used for wounds. This research may be pertaining to the pathways of healing but the use of D for wound care is not new.

[ckilmer]

I’ve seen the graphs of covid deaths. Vitamin d below 20 ng/mL were present in people who died from covid. but as vitamin d levels increased — covid death rates fell off. until they are practically zero above 60 ng/mL

I pushed my vitamin d intake to 10k iu and got my vitamin d levels to 68 ng/ml. I’m far more confident that that’s more protective against covid than the shots.

[Hiddigeigei]

You should supplement your vitamin D3 with vitamin K2 MK7 to prevent calcification of coronary arteries and the aortic valve.