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Overview Tuberculosis and Vitamin D


Many studies have found that Vitamin D both PREVENTS and TREATS TB

TB and vitamin D 120 items


TB treated by Sunlight, then cod liver oil & Vitamin D, then antibiotics (but TB is becoming resistant)...

Dec 2023: ChatGPT-4 was asked: What is the history of vitamin d treating TB
The use of vitamin D in treating tuberculosis (TB) has a fascinating history that intertwines with the broader understanding of vitamin D's role in human health.

Early Observations and the Sanatorium Movement: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before antibiotics were available, TB was a leading cause of death. During this time, it was observed that sunlight and fresh air seemed to benefit TB patients. This observation led to the sanatorium movement, where patients were treated in facilities with abundant sunlight and fresh air.

Vitamin D Discovery and TB Treatment: The discovery of vitamin D in the early 20th century provided a scientific basis for these observations. It was found that sunlight helped the body produce vitamin D, which in turn played a crucial role in immune function and bone health. This led to the hypothesis that vitamin D might be beneficial in treating TB.

Cod Liver Oil and Vitamin D: Cod liver oil, a rich source of vitamin D, was used in the early 20th century as a treatment for TB. This practice was based on the understanding that vitamin D could boost the immune system.

Studies and Decline in Use: As antibiotic therapy became more prevalent with the discovery of streptomycin in 1943 and other antibiotics thereafter, the focus shifted from vitamin D to antibiotic treatment for TB. However, studies continued to explore the role of vitamin D in immune function, particularly its effects on the innate immune system, which is involved in the body's initial response to TB infection.

Recent Research and Revival of Interest: In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the role of vitamin D in TB treatment, especially in cases of drug-resistant TB and in populations with high rates of vitamin D deficiency. Research has shown that vitamin D can enhance the immune system's ability to fight TB bacteria. However, it is generally used as an adjunct to standard antibiotic therapy, not as a standalone treatment.

Contemporary Understanding: Today, the role of vitamin D in TB treatment is understood to be more complex and nuanced. While it's not a cure, vitamin D supplementation can be beneficial in certain cases, especially for patients with low vitamin D levels. Its role is seen as supportive, enhancing the effectiveness of conventional TB treatments.

In summary, the history of vitamin D in the treatment of TB reflects the evolving understanding of both the disease and the vitamin. From early empirical observations to modern scientific research, vitamin D has been recognized as playing a supportive role in enhancing the immune response to TB, particularly in conjunction with established antibiotic treatments.
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Wonder when doctors will get back to treating TB with Vitamin D
Far less cost & suffering,


New perspectives on difficult-to-treat tuberculosis based on old therapeutic approaches - March 2020

International J. of Infectious Diseases Vol 92, Supp., March 2020, Pages S91-S99 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.02.039
Michele Mondoni a, Stefano Centanni a, Giovanni Sotgiu b

Highlights

  • Tuberculosis is an important clinical and public health issue worldwide.
  • Old TB therapies aimed to improve hygiene conditions, strengthen immune system, achieve the rest of the affected lungs.
  • New options based on old therapies have been explored: their potential implementation may be useful for drug resistant TB.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an important clinical and public health issue worldwide. Despite improved treatment success rates following the introduction of antibiotics in daily clinical practice, the expected decline in incidence has been hampered by HIV epidemics and multi- and extensively drug-resistant TB. During the pre-antibiotic era, TB therapies were mainly based on improving hygiene conditions, strengthening the immune system, and targeting the rest of the affected lungs with invasive techniques. Detailed knowledge of old non-pharmacological therapies might support physicians and researchers in the identification of new solutions for difficult-to-treat patients. We performed a narrative literature review on the main old therapeutic options prescribed for patients with TB. The main recommendations and contraindications of sanatorium therapies (i.e., bed rest, fresh air, sunlight) and pulmonary collapse techniques are reviewed, evaluating their physiological basis and their impact on patient outcomes. We report studies describing new interventional pulmonary and surgical techniques and assess new perspectives based on old medical and surgical treatments, whose potential implementation could help complicated patients.
 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki


Vitamin D, cod liver oil, sunshine, and phototherapy: Safe, effective and forgotten tools for treating and curing TB - March 2018

Vitamin D, cod liver oil, sunshine, and phototherapy: Safe, effective and forgotten tools for treating and curing tuberculosis infections - A comprehensive review.
J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2018 Mar;177:21-29. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2017.07.027
McCullough PJ1, Lehrer DS2.

  • 1 Summit Behavioral Healthcare, Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Cincinnati, OH, 45237, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Dayton, OH, 45435, USA. Electronic address: patrick.mccullough at mha.ohio.gov.
  • 2 Summit Behavioral Healthcare, Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Cincinnati, OH, 45237, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Dayton, OH, 45435, USA.


Tuberculosis remains an epidemic throughout the world, with over 2 billion people, or more than one third of the world's population, infected with TB. In 2015, there were an estimated 10.4 million new cases of tuberculosis, and 1.8 million deaths, making TB one of the top ten causes of death worldwide. Approximately 95% of new TB cases occur in developing countries, where the costs of treatment force many patients and their families into poverty. The United Nations and the World Health Organization are working to end this global epidemic.
Historically,

  • cod liver oil in the 1840's,
  • phototherapy in the 1890's,
  • sunshine in the 1890's and 1930's,
  • oral vitamin D in doses of 100,000-150,000 international units a day the 1940's, and
  • injectable vitamin D in the 1940's

were all shown to be able to safely treat tuberculosis.
However, for reasons that are unclear, these treatments are no longer being used to treat tuberculosis. We will review several reports that documented the clinical efficacy of these seemingly disparate treatments in treating tuberculosis. Taken together, however, these reports show the consistent efficacy of vitamin D in treating tuberculosis infections, regardless of whether the vitamin D was produced in the skin from the effects of phototherapy or sunshine, taken orally as a pill or in cod-liver oil, or put into solution and injected directly into the body. We will discuss how vitamin D, through its action as a steroid hormone that regulates gene transcription in cells and tissues throughout the body, enables the body to eradicate TB by stimulating the formation of a natural antibiotic in white blood cells, the mechanism of which was discovered in 2006. We will speculate as to why vitamin D, cod liver oil, sunshine, and phototherapy are no longer being used to treat tuberculosis, in spite of their proven efficacy in safely treating this disease dating back to the early 1800's. In fact, in 1903 the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology was awarded to a physician who was able to cure hundreds of cases of long-standing lupus vulgaris (cutaneous TB) with refracted light rays from an electric arc lamp. Vitamin D, cod liver oil, sunshine, and phototherapy have never been shown to lose their ability to safely eradicate tuberculosis infections, and deserve consideration to be re-examined as first-line treatments for tuberculosis. These treatments have the potential to help cost-effectively and safely end the global TB epidemic.
 Download the PDF from Sci-Hub via VitaminDWiki

Study was cited 38 times as of Dec 2023

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Chart by Wagner and Hollis,  downloaded from Grassroots April 2010 – video expected June


13 Items in TB and Intervention:


What is the cost to treat TB: Asked Chat-GPT-4 Dec 2023


The cost of treating tuberculosis (TB) varies significantly depending on several factors, including the type of TB (drug-susceptible or drug-resistant), the country or region, the healthcare setting (public or private), and the specific treatment regimen. Here's a general overview:

Drug-Susceptible TB:
In many low- and middle-income countries, the basic treatment for drug-susceptible TB is often provided free of charge by public health programs, supported by organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the

Global Fund.
The treatment typically includes a combination of antibiotics taken for 6 to 9 months. The cost of these medications can range from a few dollars to several hundred dollars for the full course, depending on the country and whether generics are available.

Drug-Resistant TB:
Treating drug-resistant TB (such as multi-drug-resistant TB or extensively drug-resistant TB) is much more complex and expensive. These forms of TB require longer treatment courses (up to 2 years) with more expensive and potentially toxic drugs.
The cost can range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars per patient. In some countries, these costs may be covered by public health programs, but in others, patients may bear some or all of the cost.

Additional Costs:
Besides medication, costs may include

  • diagnostic tests,
  • monitoring,
  • hospital stays (if required), and
  • treatment of side effects or comorbid conditions.
  • Indirect costs can also be significant, including
    • loss of income due to illness,
    • travel expenses for treatment, and the
    • impact on family members.

Global Funding and Aid:
International aid and funding initiatives play a crucial role in reducing the financial burden of TB treatment, especially in low-income countries.
Organizations like the Global Fund, WHO, and various non-profits work to subsidize or provide free TB treatment in regions most affected by the disease.
It's important to note that the actual cost can vary greatly depending on individual circumstances and the healthcare infrastructure of the country in question. Access to affordable TB treatment remains a significant global health challenge, particularly in developing countries and for drug-resistant strains of the disease.


2021 Deaths: TB caused more than COVID

The telegraph Oct 26, 2022    1.6 million TB deaths in 2021


2022 Deaths: COVID = 7 million, TB = 1.3 million, Malaria = 0.6 million


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A. Martineau: TB and Vitamin D

  • Search VitaminDWiki for Martineau 491 items as of June 2019
  • The role of vitamin D in tuberculosis pathogenesis and treatment April 2014
    A. Martineau, presented at 16th International Congress on Infectious Diseases - abstract-only online
    32% of people are infected with TB
    Vitamin D was used to treat TB in the pre-antibiotic era, and its active metabolite,
    1,25-dihydoxyvitamin D, has long been known to enhance the immune response to mycobacteria in vitro.
    Vitamin D deficiency is common in patients with active TB,
  • A. Martineau organized the Vitamin D conference in England - April 23-25 2014
  • Vitamin D and tuberculosis: more effective in prevention than treatment?
    Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2015 Aug;19(8):876-7. doi: 10.5588/ijtld.15.0506.
    Davies PD1, Martineau AR2. text not available for 6 months (Jan 2016)

TB arrested by cod-liver oil (containing vitamin D) in 1848 was 3X better than other treatments at the time

CLICK HERE if registered (free) for updated analysis of the 1848 study


Vitamin D Receptor ApaI Gene Polymorphism and Tuberculosis Susceptibility: A Meta-Analysis (Feb 2014)

Genet Test Mol Biomarkers. 2014 Feb 26.
Areeshi MY1, Mandal RK, Panda AK, Haque S.

Aim: Vitamin D performs its actions through the vitamin D receptor (VDR), which acts as a transcriptional factor. Many case-control studies have been performed in the past to elucidate the association of the ApaI polymorphism of VDR gene and the risk of tuberculosis (TB). However, these studies have shown inconsistent and conflicting results. In the present study, a meta-analysis was performed to investigate the potential relationship between the VDR ApaI gene polymorphism and the risk of TB.

Methodology: A quantitative synthesis was performed for the published studies based on the association between the VDR ApaI gene polymorphism and the risk of TB retrieved from PubMed (Medline) and EMBASE web databases. A meta-analysis was performed, and pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated for all the genetic models.

Results: We observed a decreased risk of TB in allelic contrast (a vs. A: p=0.009; OR=0.869, 95% CI=0.782 to 0.965), homozygous (aa vs. AA: p=0.006; OR=0.724, 95% CI=0.575 to 0.910), and heterozygous (aA vs. AA: p=0.698; OR=0.948, 95% CI=0.722 to 1.243) comparisons. Similarly, dominant (aa+Aa vs. AA: p=0.032; OR=0.842, 95% CI=0.720 to 0.985) and recessive (aa vs. AA+Aa: p=0.027; OR=0.796, 95% CI=0.650 to 0.975) models also demonstrated a decreased risk of TB, whereas a heterozygous genotype (Aa vs. AA: p=0.109; OR=0.873, 95% CI=0.740 to 1.030) did not indicate any association with the risk of TB. There was no evidence of publication bias and heterogeneity test.

Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that ApaI polymorphism of the VDR gene is significantly associated with a decreased risk of TB. However, future larger studies with groups of populations are warranted to analyze this association.

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ID Name Comment Uploaded Size Downloads
20510 New perspectives_CompressPdf.pdf admin 22 Dec, 2023 370.09 Kb 30
20509 TB forgotten sci-hub.pdf admin 22 Dec, 2023 270.05 Kb 35
11447 TB HIV Gapminder.jpg admin 22 Feb, 2019 49.08 Kb 1549
3731 TB Vitamin D Council.jpg admin 25 Mar, 2014 99.72 Kb 4950
3608 Bsml decreases TB.pdf admin 08 Feb, 2014 620.12 Kb 2245
3575 TB Dec 2013.pdf admin 24 Jan, 2014 469.10 Kb 2572
2368 TB 28 year.pdf admin 14 Apr, 2013 380.17 Kb 2431