You probably have some in your home right now
This household staple can help fight the resurgence of Tuberculosis
It seemed like tuberculosis was disappearing from the developed world for a few decades.
But it was always lurking…
And now the spread of this bacterial infection is increasing all across the globe.
The World Health Organisation estimates that one in four people carries the bacteria — though mostly in a latent form.
The yearly deaths from TB are around 2 million… and growing.
Antibiotic resistance is increasingly common with tuberculosis.
Harmless viruses called bacteriophages can target bacterial infections…
…but TB has numerous ways of hiding from treatments and bacteriophage treatments are not yet effective.
Recently there have been some interesting discoveries about the nature of tuberculosis-like bacteria.
Tuberculosis hijacks blood platelets — which distracts the immune system — allowing for disease to occur.
We already have medications which can block this platelet effect, including aspirin.
The animal experiments were carried out at the Tuberculosis Research Program Centenary Institute, The University of Sydney in Camperdown, Australia. The results were published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Thrombocytosis is one of the major indications of tuberculosis.
It simply means that the body produces too many blood platelets (thrombocytes).
“Infection-induced thrombocytosis is a clinically important complication of tuberculosis infection.”
The main function of platelets is to clump together — preventing bleeding, forming protective layers around cuts and perforations in the body.
Obviously if platelets are too high it can lead to excessive clumping — blood clots including stroke.
Aspirin has many uses — including as an antiplatelet medication.
Yet, the effect of aspirin on thrombocytosis in tuberculosis infection has never been investigated.
“Some have highlighted the utility of aspirin in modulating the inflammatory response to infection, but we have not yet investigated the possibility that the effect of aspirin is related to an antiplatelet mode of action.”
To learn more about this, the researcher infected zebrafish with a bacteria very similar to the bacteria which causes TB.
So similar, in fact that infections with this bacteria in humans are often misdiagnosed as tuberculosis.
“In this study we utilized the zebrafish-Mycobacterium marinum model.”
High platelets cause granulomas — a collection of immune cells.
This is caused by both TB and the related bacteria used in these experiments.
The researchers believed that high platelets led to granulomas which distracted the immune system from fighting the bacteria.
So if they could reduce platelets the body could lower bacterial numbers naturally.
The researchers tested the effect of the antiplatelet medication aspirin on the infected zebrafish.
Aspirin was effective at lowering bacterial load.
It allowed the immune system to destroy the infection.
“Treatment of infected zebrafish with aspirin markedly reduced mycobacterial burden.”
The researchers carried out another set of experiments to double check that they understood what was happening.
They used specific platelet inhibitors — medications which only do the action they believed aspirin was performing.
(Aspirin has a lot of effects.)
Those experiments also gave very positive results — reinforcing the idea that aspirin works on platelets — reducing infections.
“This effect is reproduced by treatment with platelet-specific glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors.”
The researchers identified a new mechanism by which aspirin fights TB-like bacterial infections.
“We found platelet activation is an efficacious target of aspirin, a widely available and affordable host-directed therapy candidate for tuberculosis.”
Bacteria used in these experiments are closely related to the TB bacteria.
The effects of the bacteria are similar in humans and animals too.
Critically, TB works in the same way as the Mycobacterium marinum that the researchers used to infect the zebrafish.
More needs to be done to show absolute proof…
…but this study indicates very strongly that aspirin could help in the fight against the resurgence of tuberculosis.
You should consult a healthcare practitioner about treating and diagnosing health-related problems.
—-Important Message—-
Imagine her heart – and lady parts – throbbing from anticipation with every notification ping…
In our digital world, a sensational text message is sparking controversy.
1,000s of men are using this 3-day text method that leaves the ladies, let’s say, “excited”…
I have exhaustively fine-tuned the art of text messaging…
And I’ve created an unbeatable 3-day text sequence, each a guaranteed ignition to feminine curiosity…
…even if your name is just a new entry in her contact list…
Witness the transformation from a casual chat to a dinner date, a movie night, or whatever you want…
The secret lies in the effortless act of this 3-day text method…
———-
