Vitamin D could help the body fight infections of deadly tuberculosis (TB), according to doctors in London. A study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed patients recovered more quickly when given both the vitamin and antibiotics.
The idea of using vitamin D to treat TB harks back to some of the earliest treatments for the lung infection. Before antibiotics were discovered, TB patients were prescribed “forced sunbathing,” known as heliotherapy, which increased vitamin D production.
However, the treatment disappeared when antibiotics proved successful at treating the disease.
This study on 95 patients, conducted at hospitals across London, combined antibiotics with vitamin D pills. It showed that recovery was almost two weeks faster when vitamin D was added. Patients who stuck to the regimen cleared the infection in 23 days on average, while it took patients 36 days if they were given antibiotics and a placebo.