Extra calcium in the gut may lead to C. diff infections. Ironically, more calcium could be the solution, too.
New research suggests that calcium in the gut plays an important part in enabling C. diff infections.
The bacterium lurks in hospitals and nursing homes, surviving cleaning crews’ attempts to kill it by holing up in a tiny, hard shell. It preys upon patients already weak from disease or advanced age.
And when it reaches their guts, Clostridium difficile (often called C. diff) breaks open its shell and unleashes infections that kill nearly 30,000 Americans each year—and sicken half a million more.
But, as new research shows, C. diff can’t make this final, crucial move without enough of a humble nutrient: calcium. That new insight may lead to better treatment for the most vulnerable patients.
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