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How important
is Vitamin D?
Startling Vitamin D research
that the
scientific community is not telling the public!
(1)
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Harvard School of Public Health
.
"If everyone had adequate vitamin D levels in their bloodstreams,
it would be equivalent to eliminating
a big portion of cancer."
.
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(2)
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By Scott Allen, Globe Staff
December 30, 2004
"A growing body of scientific
evidence suggests that the
widespread deficiency of vitamin
D among Americans
is more harmful than once believed."
.
|
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(3)
(4)
(5)
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American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Vol.
79, No. 3, 362-371, March 2004
Vitamin D: importance in the prevention
of cancers,
type 1 diabetes, heart disease,
and osteoporosis
"Studies in both human
and animal models add strength to the hypothesis that the unrecognized
epidemic of vitamin D deficiency worldwide is a contributing
factor of many chronic debilitating diseases." Greater awareness
of the "insidious
consequences" of vitamin D deficiency is needed."
.
|
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(6)
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Department of Biochemistry
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Suppression of autoimmune disease requires
not only the active form of vitamin
D and its analogs,
but also adequate or high calcium intakes.
Vitamin D & Calcium:
The reversal of 5 Autoimmune Diseases
(1) EAE(Similar
to Human Multiple Sclerosis) (2) Rheumatoid arthritis (3)Systemic Lupus
(4) Inflammatory Bowel Disease (5)
Type I Diabetes
Click
here to read more
|
| |
Before taking Vitamin D3 you need to
take the following test to check your levels!
Vitamin D Blood Test
25-hydroxyvitamin D
VITAMIN D3 DEFICIENCY IS RAMPANT WORLDWIDE
Vitamin D deficiency is rampant
not just in the U.S., but worldwide, and research into vitamin D status and its effects on your health has grown
tremendously in the past couple of years, showing that previously recommended levels are insufficient to reap any
major health benefits.
This has led to a surge in vitamin D testing, with labs doing some 500,000 tests per month!
Unfortunately, recent developments in 2008 have made it clear that there are irregularities in the values obtained
from the different testing methods. Although results from any of the three commonly used assays may be analytically
accurate, they might not be clinically accurate, which is, ultimately, what matters.
The correct test is 25(OH)D,
also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
Please note the difference between normal and optimal. You don't want to be average here; you want to be optimally
healthy.
These optimal values have been confirmed by more recent studies into vitamin D status
and its effects on health and reduced disease risks.
OPTIMAL
25-Hydroxyvitamin D Values
70-90 ng/ml
NORMAL
25-Hydroxyvitamin D lab Values
50-70 ng/ml
Your vitamin D level should NEVER
be below 32 ng/ml.
Any levels below 20 ng/ml are considered serious defiency states and will increase your risk of breast
and prostate cancer and autoimmune diseases like MS and rheumatoid arthritis.
Diseases linked to
Vitamin D deficiency
Alcoholism
Anxiety
Arthritis
Autoimmune diseases
Birth defects
Bone diseases
Bone pain
Cancer
Celiac-Sprue
Coeliac
Crohn's
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic Pain
Cystic fibrosis
Depression |
Diabetes
Diarrhea
Enzymatic diseases
Impaired wound healing
Inflammatory bowel disease
Insomnia
Intestine Irritability
Joint pain
Kidney
Liver
Lupus
Malabsorption
Multiple sclerosis
Muscle pain
Obsessive Disorders |
Fatigue
Fibromyalgia
Graves' disease
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Osteomalacea
Osteoporosis
Panic Attacks
Parkinson's
PMS(Vitamin
D & Calcium)
Psoriasis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rickets
Scalp sweating
Schizophrenia
Thyroid |
Vitamin D Clinical Study
Breast Cancer & Colon
Cancer
February 6, 2007
Click Here to read original article
Two New Studies Back Vitamin
D for Cancer Prevention
Researchers Report Levels Needed To Cut Breast, Colon Cancer Risk
|
2000 IU of Vitamin
D3 Daily
U.S. Breast Cancer Rates
cut by 50%
U.S. Colon Cancer
Rates cut by 66%
|
Two new vitamin D studies using a sophisticated
form of analysis called meta-analysis, in which data from multiple reports is combined, have revealed new prescriptions for possibly preventing
up to half
of the cases of breast cancer and two-thirds of the cases of colorectal cancer in the United States. The work was conducted by a core team of cancer prevention
specialists at the Moores Cancer
Center at University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and colleagues from both coasts.
BREAST CANCER
The breast cancer study, published online in the current issue of the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, pooled dose-response data from two earlier studies – the Harvard Nurses Health Study and the St.
George's Hospital Study – and found
that individuals with the highest
blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D,
or 25(OH)D(Scientific names for Vitamin
D), had the lowest risk of breast
cancer.
The researchers divided the 1,760 records of individuals in the two studies into five equal groups, from the lowest
blood levels of 25(OH)D (less than 13 nanograms per milliliter, or 13 ng/ml) to the highest (approximately 52 ng/ml).
The data also included whether or not the individual had developed cancer.
“The data were very clear, showing that
individuals in the group with the
lowest blood levels had the highest rates of breast cancer, and the
breast cancer rates dropped as
the blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D increased,” said study co-author Cedric Garland, Dr.P.H. “The serum level
associated with a 50 percent reduction in risk could be maintained by taking
2,000 international units of vitamin D3 daily plus, when the weather
permits, spending 10 to 15 minutes a day in the sun.”
COLON CANCER
The colorectal cancer study, published online February 6 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, is a meta-analysis of five studies that explored the association of blood levels of
25(OH)D with risk of colon cancer. All of the studies involved blood collected and tested for 25 (OH)D levels from
healthy volunteer donors who were then followed for up to 25 years for development of colorectal cancer.
As with the breast cancer study, the dose-response data on a total of 1,448 individuals were put into order by
serum 25(OH)D level and then divided into five equal groups, from the lowest blood levels to the highest.
“Through this meta-analysis we
found that raising the serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D to 34 ng/ml would reduce the incidence rates of colorectal cancer by half,” said
co-author Edward D. Gorham, Ph.D. “We
project a two-thirds reduction in incidence with serum levels of
46ng/ml, which corresponds to a
daily intake of 2,000 IU of vitamin
D3. This would be best achieved
with a combination of diet, supplements and 10 to 15 minutes per day in the sun.”
VITAMIN D SUPPLEMENTS
Vitamin D3 is available through
diet, supplements and exposure of the skin to sunlight, or ultraviolet
B (UVB). In the paper, the researchers
underscored the importance of limiting sun exposure such that the skin does not change color (tan) or burn. For
a typical fair-skinned Caucasian individual, adequate vitamin D could be photosynthesized safely by spending 10 to 15 minutes in the noontime sun on a clear day with 50 percent of skin area exposed to the sun. Darker skinned individuals may require more time in
the sun, such as 25 minutes. For people with photosensitivity disorders, or anyone with a personal or family history
of nonmelanoma skin cancer, any amount of extra sun exposure would be inadvisable.
The meta-analysis on colorectal cancer includes data from the Women's Health Initiative, which had shown in 2006
that a low dose of vitamin D did not protect against colorectal cancer within seven years of follow-up. However,
the researchers wrote, the meta-analysis
indicates that a higher dose may reduce its incidence.
“Meta-analysis is an important tool for revealing trends that may not be apparent in a single study,” said co-author
Sharif B. Mohr, M.P.H. “Pooling of independent but similar studies increases precision, and therefore the confidence
level of the findings.”
The authors recommend further
research to study individuals for the
effect of vitamin D from sunlight, diet and supplements on the risk of cancer.
END of ARTICLE
June 8, 2007
OMAHA, Neb. – Building hopes that one pill could someday prevent many cancers, scientists say vitamin D cut the risk of several types of cancer by 60 percent overall
for older women in the most rigorous study yet.
The new research strengthens the case made by some specialists that vitamin D may be a powerful cancer preventive and most people should get more of it. Experts remain split, though, on how much to take.
“The findings . . . are a breakthrough
of great medical and public health importance,” said Cedric Garland, a prominent vitamin D researcher at the University of California San Diego. “No other method to prevent cancer has been identified
that has such a powerful impact.”
Earlier research has shown that vitamin D helps regulate cell growth, a fundamental biological process that goes
haywire in cancer. Most other supplements have tended to target specific types of disease in early testing, such
as selenium or vitamin E for prostate cancer.
This study, published today in
the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is the first time that researchers significantly boosted – and measured
– blood levels of vitamin D and
then followed identical groups of patients from start to finish.
Read Full article here
|
Department of Biochemistry
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Suppression of autoimmune disease requires
not only the active form of vitamin
D and its analogs,
but also adequate or high calcium intakes.
.,
|
Biological Partners
Vitamin D & Calcium
You CAN NOT
get benefits from one without the
other!
|
|
Learn More
After viewing, hit the "BACK" Button
to return to this page
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Bob's Best
Vitamin D3
5000 IU
90 Capsules
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Coral Calcium
"Supreme"
1000mg
90 Capsules
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Do you suffer from an automimmune
disease?
CLICK HERE TO READ
MORE STUDIES
SCIENTIFIC FACTS
(#1) Sunlight Exposure causes Vitamin
D Production
It is a known scientific fact that
when UVB sunlight strikes the human
skin, Vitamin D production occurs.
When Vitamin D passes through
the intestinal tract, it attaches
itself to the VITAMIN D RECEPTORS that are found in very high quanities on the ends
of the INTESTINAL VILLI that line the intestinal walls. The villi are small fingerlike projections that increase
the surface area of the small intestine for maximum absorption. The result is dramatically improved Calcium absorption.
(#2) Calcium is difficult
to absorb without Vitamin D
Calcium is a positively charged
ion and is very difficult for the human body to absorb due
to the fact that our intestinal walls are lined with positively charged villi that repel the positively charged
ion, calcium. However, when Vitamin
D passes through our digestive tract, Vitamin
D attaches to the ends of the villi and changes
the positive charge to a negative charge which then allows the
villi to magnetically grab the Calcium ion as it passes by.
What is the result?
If the intestinal tract villi
are full of Vitamin D, Calcium absorption
can be improved by as much as 20 fold. Without Vitamin D, Calcium will simply pass through your body and you will get very little benefit from the Calcium you consume in your diet.
|
Diagram of the
Small Intestine & Intestinal Villi
The small intestine is crucial in the digestion & absorption of nutrients and
spans about 22 to 25 feet.
This important organ is composed of the duodenum,
jejunum, ileum, and villi.
See Enlarged Diagram below of
Intestinal Villi & Calcium Absorption
Find Items in diagram below
|
Intestinal Villi
|
human
Vitamin D Receptor
.
hVDR
*Found
on the tips of all Villi
|
Vitamin D attaches to
its Vitamin D receptor
- Charge
|
Positive Ion
Calcium
(Ca2+)
|
|
(#1)
Calcium
Magnetically Repelled
+charge of the Villi and the +charge
of the Calcium
REPEL EACH OTHER
Calcium
(Ca2+)
NO ABSORPTION!
|
(#2)
Vitamin D changes Charge
from +(pos) to -(neg)
Vitamin D attaches to its
Vitamin D Receptor at the end of the Villi.
Charge is changed from
+(positive) to -(negative).
.
READY FOR CALCIUM!
|
(#3)
Calcium Magnetically
Attached & Absorbed
Calcium
(Ca2+)
+(positive) Calcium Ion is
magnetically ATTRACTED to -(negative).
CALCIUM IS ABSORBED!
|
Description of what is happening in
DIAGRAM ABOVE.
|
Biological Partners
Vitamin D & Calcium
You CAN NOT
get benefits from one without the
other!
|
|
Learn More
After viewing, hit the "BACK" Button
to return to this page
|
Bob's Best
Vitamin D3
5000 IU
90 Capsules
|
Coral Calcium
"Supreme"
1000mg
90 Capsules
|
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CALCIUM & VITAMIN D WORK
TOGETHER TO ELIMINATE
Premenstrual Syndrome "PMS"
Readers Digest
"Premenstrual Syndrome
(PMS)"
Reported that the Metabolic Bone Center at St.
Lukes Hospital believes that "a
chronic deficiency of calcium is largely responsible for premenstrual syndrome (PMS)" and that "a lot of women are avoiding the sun and their vitamin-D levels may be very low". In the same article, the Digest reported that "in
1997 the large federally financed trial found that a diet containing 1200 milligrams of calcium significantly lowered
blood pressure in adults".
CNN Interactive Article
"Calcium may be the key to taming premenstrual pain"
"The research, funded in part by the maker
of Tums, a popular antacid and calcium supplement, studied more than 400 premenopausal women across the United States....Within three months, there was a 50 percent
reductions of symptoms,.....Symptoms
such as mood swings, tension, headaches
and cramping were all alleviated with calcium......Food cravings also dropped by half, and water retention
decreased by more than one-third....PMS
may be an early warning sign for osteoporosis....We've never really had a marker for this bone loss," Thys-Jacobs
said. "Now I think we have it.....Now
we have a premenstrual syndrome that is manifesting as a calcium
deficient state."
Below is a list of other Scientific
Facts
concerning Vitamin D
Scientific Fact
There are only 2 sources
of Vitamin-D
Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) can be synthesized
by humans in the skin upon exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation from sunlight, or it can be obtained from the diet.
Scientific Fact
It has been estimated that nearly 95%
of our vitamin D requirement comes from casual exposure to sunlight. Very few foods contain Vitamin-D, therefore less than 5% of vitamin-D levels actually comes from our diet.
Scientific Fact
Any process that either decreases the number of UVB photons(sunlight)
entering the epidermis or decreases the amount of 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin will result in a significant
reduction in or the complete elimination of vitamin D3 production in the skin.
Scientific Fact
Elderly at risk for Vitamin-D
deficiency
Aging decreases the amount of 7-dehydrocholesterol produced in the skin by as much as 75% by the age of 70.
Scientific Fact
Older people who are institutionalized or housebound are at a particularly high risk of vitamin D deficiency. For
example, up to 80% of women
and 70% of men living in hostels or nursing homes in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia were frankly deficient in vitamin D, and 97%
had a 25-OHD level below the median value of the healthy reference range.
Scientific Fact
Because the zenith angle(of the
sun) is dependent on time of day, season of the year, and latitude, those factors have a dramatic effect on the cutaneous production of vitamin D3.
Scientific Fact
Latitude dictates the level of year round exposure to UVB photons which dictates vitamin-d levels.
(1) Below 35°, the zenith angle is more direct, and therefore previtamin D3 synthesis can occur in the skin year-round.
(2) Above 35° latitude, the angle of the sun is so oblique during the winter months that most, if not all, of the UVB photons below 315 nm are absorbed by the ozone layer,
thereby either reducing or completely
preventing the production of previtamin D3 in the skin.
Scientific Fact
At latitudes greater than 40
N or S there is little conversion occurring from October to March,
which is sometimes referred to as the 'vitamin
D winter'.
Scientific Fact
Vitamin-D Levels in the Northern
States are lower than Southern
States. Cancer rates in Northern
States are higher than cancer
rates in southern states.
Scientific Fact
MELANIN BLOCKS VITAMIN D
PRODUCTION
Melanin is a natural sunscreen
that evolved to protect humans from blistering solar radiation as they evolved in equatorial regions of the world. This skin pigment is an extremely effective sunscreen with absorption properties from the ultraviolet C (200-280 nm) into the visible range
(> 700 nm), and it competes quite well with 7-dehydrocholesterol for UVB photons. Thus, people
of color who have greater amounts of melanin in their epidermis than do whites are less efficient in producing vitamin D3 than are whites. A
person with skin type 5/6 (dark
skin, never develops a sunburn)
requires 10-50 times the exposure
to sunlight to produce the same amount of vitamin D3 in their skin as does a white person with skin type 2 or 3.
Scientific Fact
Effects on cancer rates due
to changing geographical residence
In 1968 an epidemiological study indicated that dietary habits and environmental influences are the chief determinants of the world's varying cancer
rates and not genetic factors. Data showed that in the course of three generations,
Japanese migrants in the United
States contracted colon cancer at the same rates as the general American population. In contrast, the regular colon cancer rate in Japan remained about one-fourth the American incidence.
Scientific Fact
Vitamin D deficiency is widespread
among U.S. population,
expectant mothers are
deficient and giving birth to deficient infants. Vitamin-D levels are past from the mother to the infant. The infant will maintain 1/2 of the vitamin-D level of the mother. Therefore, if the mother is vitamin-D deficient, this deficiency will be past onto the
child.
Scientific Fact
Recent studies have found that women
who cover most of their body for religious reasons, such as Muslims and Orthodox Jews, risk vitamin D deficiencies. As one example, Turkish researchers reported that veiled Muslim women had lower levels of vitamin D compared with nonveiled women. Recent studies show a prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in Muslim women, and children born to Muslim women.
Scientific Fact
"We absolutely have a huge
problem with vitamin D deficiency," said Dr. Bess Dawson-Hughes, director of the Bone Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts University
Scientific Fact
CANCER & VITAMIN D
"If everyone had adequate
vitamin D levels in their bloodstreams, it
would be equivalent to eliminating a big portion of cancer." Harvard
School of Public Health
Scientific Fact
The most common autoimmune diseases, including type
1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis, have all been successfully
prevented in models using mice
that were prone to these diseases
if they received vitamin D early in life.
Scientific Fact
Infants and young children who
are vitamin D deficient may be imprinted for the rest of their lives with increased risks of type 1 diabetes, multiple
sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and many common cancers.
Scientific Fact
Vitamin D deficiency is often
misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia.
|
Department of Biochemistry
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Suppression of autoimmune disease requires
not only the active form of vitamin
D and its analogs,
but also adequate or high calcium intakes.
.
|
Multiple Sclerosis
Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1997 Oct;216(1):21-7
Vitamin D and multiple
sclerosis.
Hayes CE, Cantorna MT, DeLuca HF.
Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706, USA.
Recently, it has been clearly
demonstrated that exogenous 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, the hormonal form of vitamin D3,
can completely prevent experimental
autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE),
a widely accepted mouse model of human
multiple sclerosis (MS).
This finding has focused attention on the possible relationship of this disease to vitamin D. Although genetic traits certainly contribute to MS susceptibility, an environmental factor is also clearly involved.
It is our hypothesis that one crucial environmental factor is the degree of sunlight exposure catalyzing the production of vitamin D3 in skin, and, further, that the hormonal form of vitamin D3 is a selective immune system regulator inhibiting
this autoimmune disease.
Thus, under low-sunlight conditions, insufficient
vitamin D3 is produced, limiting production of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, providing a risk for MS. Although the evidence that vitamin D3 is a protective
environmental factor against MS is circumstantial, it is compelling.
This theory can explain the striking geographic distribution of MS, which is nearly zero in equatorial regions and increases dramatically with latitude
in both hemispheres. It can also
explain two peculiar geographic anomalies, one
in Switzerland with high MS rates at low altitudes and low MS rates
at high altitudes, and one in Norway with a high MS prevalence inland and a lower MS prevalence along the coast.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Ultraviolet (UV) light intensity
is higher at high altitudes,
resulting in a greater vitamin D3 synthetic rate, thereby accounting for low MS rates at higher altitudes. On the Norwegian coast, fish
is consumed at high rates and
fish oils are rich in vitamin D3.
Further, experimental work on EAE provides
strong support for the importance of vitamin D3 in reducing the risk and susceptibility for MS.
If this hypothesis is correct, then 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin
D3 or its analogs may have great therapeutic potential in patients with MS.
More importantly, current research together with data from migration studies opens the possibility that MS may be preventable in genetically susceptible individuals
with early intervention strategies that provide adequate levels of hormonally active 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 or
its analogs.
Vitamin D & Calcium:
The reversal of 5 Autoimmune Diseases
(1) EAE(Similar
to Human Multiple Sclerosis) (2) Rheumatoid arthritis (3)Systemic Lupus
(4) Inflammatory Bowel Disease (5)
Type I Diabetes
|
Department of Biochemistry
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Suppression of autoimmune disease requires
not only the active form of vitamin
D and its analogs,
but also adequate or high calcium intakes.
.
|
Vitamin D:
its role and uses in immunology
Department of Biochemistry, University
of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA; and Department of Nutrition, Pennsylvania State University,
University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
Diseases Prevented
or Reversed using Vitamin D
vitamin D compounds = 1,25-(OH)2D3
Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis
(EAE)
(Similar to Human Multiple Sclerosis)
We focused on the disease, experimental autoimmune
encephalomyelitis (EAE) in mice. We selected B10.PL mice as the model because the sequence of neural degenerative
symptoms that result in these mice after myelin basic protein injection is similar to human multiple sclerosis
(MS). We succeeded in establishing EAE and showed there was an incidence of 100% in B10.PL mice fed a 0.87% calcium
diet containing dietary vitamin D. However, the provision of 1,25-(OH)2D3
at 50-200 ng/day could prevent the appearance of the EAE lesions. If the vitamin D compound was given postimmunization,
it prevented further development of the disease (28) . By now we have carried out extensive experiments on this experimental model of autoimmune disease and have found that the vitamin D compounds (including some important potent analogs)
are extremely effective in blocking the development of EAE.
In our attempt to reduce the hypercalcemic effects of 1,25-(OH)2D3, we
provided this compound to animals maintained on a very low calcium diet (29) . To our surprise, the low calcium
diet produced a lower incidence of disease that was resistant to treatment with the vitamin D hormone (29) (see
Fig. 2 ). On the other hand, when
similar examinations were followed in the high calcium diet,
the vitamin D compounds were effective (Fig. 3 ).
Thus, it became clear that calcium is required for the vitamin D suppression of the autoimmune disease, EAE. Our initial clinical trial with the analog 19-nor-1,25-(OH)2D2
(30) revealed little effectiveness in preventing new MS lesions primarily because we failed to simultaneously provide a normal to high calcium intake. The results, therefore, imply that a high calcium diet is required for the vitamin D hormone to be effective in the treatment of EAE.
Rheumatoid arthritis
The success with EAE suggested that vitamin D compounds could be used to treat other autoimmune disorders.
Rheumatoid arthritis proved to be another example of an autoimmune disorder that can be largely prevented by the administration of the 1-hydroxylated vitamin D compounds, including 1,25-(OH)2D3
(31) . Two autoimmune models of rheumatoid arthritis were used. One is the disorder caused by Lyme's disease or
the organism Borrelia burgdorferi; the other is collagen-induced arthritis. An example of collagen-induced arthritis
and its prevention by the administration of 1,25-(OH)2D3 is illustrated in Fig. 4 . Although little more was done
in studying this disorder, high calcium intakes were not required for vitamin D compounds to prevent the lesions.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
(SLE)
Another example not yet reported in the literature
from our group is systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In 1992, Lemire et al. described an attenuation of this disorder
by 1,25-(OH)2D3 injected three times a week to MRL mice (32) . In our
research group, MRL mice were placed on either a 0.87% calcium, 0.3% phosphorus diet or a 0.02% calcium, 0.3% phosphorus-purified
diet.
As shown in Fig. 5 , the severity of the MRL symptoms was also markedly
prevented by the administration of 1,25-(OH)2D3. Again, the results illustrate that a high calcium background is required for the vitamin D hormone to prevent the development of this autoimmune disorder in
the MRL mice. This, then, agrees
with the results obtained with EAE.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
(IBD)
The laboratory of Margherita Cantorna has investigated
the possible treatment or prevention of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by vitamin D (33) . Vitamin D deficiency accelerated the appearance of
symptoms and increased the severity of IBD
in interleukin 10 (IL-10) knockout (KO) mice. Vitamin D-deficient IL-10 knockout mice developed symptoms of IBD
within 6-8 wk (Fig. 7 ). This
was essentially prevented by the administration of 1,25-(OH)2D3, again under conditions of high calcium intakes.
Type I Diabetes
Vitamin D deficiency markedly accelerated the appearance and increased
the incidence of type I diabetes
in the NOD mice (Fig. 8 ). Addition
to the diet of 1,25-(OH)2D3 at 50 ng/day for females and 200 ng/day for males prevented the appearance of the diabetic lesions. In any case, the autoimmune disorder in the NOD mice can be prevented by the administration of 1,25-(OH)2D3 if
animals are receiving a normal to high calcium diet.
The sum of these findings in whole animals
clearly illustrates that T cell-mediated immunity can be regulated by exogenous administration of 1-hydroxylated
vitamin D compounds. The absence of vitamin D from the diet might also increase the incidence and severity of autoimmune
diseases, pointing to important regulatory
actions of the vitamin D hormone. Clearly, we
are just beginning to probe the mechanisms whereby vitamin D hormone and its analogs can act as selective immunosuppressants. We do not understand the mechanism whereby the vitamin
D hormone can act as an immunosuppressant especially of T cell-mediated inflammatory responses.
Suppression of autoimmune
disease requires
not only the active form of vitamin
D and its analogs,
but also adequate or high calcium intakes.
END OF ARTICLE
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