Anyone with a loved one in the hospital, or even in a nursing facility, knows the fear of recurring infections or antibiotic-resistant staph. Difficult to fight and easy to spread, recurring infections pose a serious health risk on their own, and a big barrier to rehabilitation and recovery.

Researchers at the College of Engineering at Boston University made an important discovery in the fight against recurring bacterial infections such as staph and strep: sugar.

According to a recent article published in the fall issue of Bostonia, the BU alumni magazine, a study has concluded that an easily-modified form of sugar dramatically booost the effectiveness of first-line antibiotics like streptomycin and tetracycline. According to the article, researchers “believe that a sugar-antibiotics combination could be used to wipe out recurring, often debilitatng infections such as those of the ear, throat, lungs and urinary tract, all of which can spread to the kidneys and other vital organs if left unchecked.” The article continues, “Our goal was to improve the effectiveness of existing antibiotics rather than invent new ones…”  This could be very good news! Sweet!