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We’re not talking about a silver bullet, but something that has been used for thousands of years prior to the invent of antibiotics. Colloidal Silver could be used to help fight antibiotic resistance researchers say.
Scientists have shown that giving tiny amounts of silver at the same time as antibiotics makes the drugs up to a thousand times more effective.
The finding comes in the wake of warnings by top doctors that the rise of drug-resistant superbugs could trigger an ‘apocalyptic scenario’ in which even routine operations such as hip surgery become deadly because we have run out of antibiotics.
Professor Dame Sally Davies said that unless urgent action is taken, the ‘ticking time bomb’ of growing antibiotic resistance could leave millions vulnerable to untreatable bugs within a generation.
U.S. researcher Dr Jim Collins said: ‘The number of antibiotic resistant strains in our hospitals and communities is growing and is growing dramatically and has been for some time.
‘And this development is accompanied by a drop in new antibiotics being developed and approved.
‘We are taking a different approach. Instead of trying to develop a completely new antibiotic, we are trying to enhance the ones we already have.’
In experiments on mice, the Boston University researchers found that giving silver with antibiotics made them between ten and a thousand times better at fighting infections.
In some cases, bugs classed as antibiotic resistant became treatable.
Top doctors warned the rise of drug-resistant superbugs (pictured) could trigger an ‘apocalyptic scenario’ in which routine operations become deadly
Although silver has long been known to have antibacterial properties, if used alone, it has to be given in such high amounts that it can be poisonous to the body.
The experiments suggest it will be safe to use it in very small amounts with existing antibiotics.
The drugs could be laced with silver or covered in a fine coating of the precious metal and used to tackle dangerous stomach bugs, urinary tract infections or hard-to-treat films of bacteria that coat catheters.
The research, detailed in the journal Science Translational Medicine, also worked out how silver helps kill bugs.
The metal makes bacteria more ‘leaky’, allowing antibiotics to get inside them and kill them. Plus, it boosts production of dangerous oxygen molecules that aid and abet the death.
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