A bit of silver could be good for what ails you. In a series of experiments, researchers have found that ionic silver boosts the efficacy of common antibiotics, helps overcome antibiotic resistance, and can even extend the range of some widely used drugs.
Investigators led by James Collins, PhD, of Boston University studied the ways that silver -- long touted as an anti-microbial -- interacts with bacterial cells. It turned out that the metal disrupts several bacterial cellular processes, leading to increases in reactive oxygen species and membrane permeability.
In vitro, adding silver to antibiotics restored susceptibility to tetracycline in a drug-resistant strain ofEscherichia coli. In mice with urinary tract infections, silver alone or gentamicin alone had no effect, but the combination significantly reduced bacterial loads. As well, the investigators reported inScience Translational Medicine, adding silver to the Gram-positive-specific antibiotic vancomycin allowed the drug to penetrate and kill Gram-negative bacteria.
"Silver could be incredibly valuable as an adjunct to existing antibiotic treatments," Collins said in a statement, especially since toxicity studies showed no harm to the mice at the levels needed to boost antibiotics.
-- Michael Smith
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