Why Lupus Patients Should Consider Taking Vitamin D Supplements
According to a new clinical study that was published in Arthritis Research and Therapy, there is evidence to suggest that vitamin D supplementation could act as an immunomodulatory agent for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). As you may remember from our previous post titled €Get in the Loop - Raising Awareness for Lupus€, this is a chronic autoimmune disease which can cause a joint pain, skin lesions, rashes, and inflammation of the tissue linings in the body.
Reducing the Effects of Autoimmune Disease
Lupus is characterized as an autoimmune disease, which means that the patient's immune system has produced certain autoantibodies which cause the body to literally attack itself. Clinical research on this disease has shown that these patients possess an inadequate amount of regulatory T cells (also known as Tregs) that normally would be capable of protecting against the onset of autoimmune disease. They also possess a larger amount of cytokine-producing T helper (Th) 17 cells and IFN-inducible genes, which can both trigger the protective immune system response. However, a number of recent studies conducted with vitamin D supplements have produced evidence which suggests that they could help to reduce the effects of autoimmune disease.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Vitamin D Supplementation
During a prospective clinical trial, Nathalie Costedoat-Chalumeau and her team wanted to evaluate the immunological effects and safety level of using vitamin D supplementation in 20 participants who had all been diagnosed with lupus and possessed naturally low levels of vitamin D. Over the course of six months, the team observed the reactions in lupus patients, and they discovered that the vitamin D supplements were not only well tolerated by these participants but, even more astonishingly, none of the of participants experienced a flare-up during the studies follow-up period.
The vitamin D supplementation actually increased the number of beneficial CD4+ cells and Treg cells in the participants of the study, while somehow lowering the number of Th1 and Th17 cells. The research team also found that it decreased the number of memory B cells and anti-DNA antibodies, which provided another boost against the symptoms of lupus. Incredibly, during their follow up, the researchers noted how these results were obtained without needing to make any adjustments to existing immunosuppressant drugs, nor were any other new medications administered during the study.
Results Suggest Beneficial Immunological Effect
Given that these results are still preliminary in nature, they do suggest that vitamin D is capable of providing a measure of immunological benefit for lupus patients. As Costedoat-Chalumeau states, these results will need to be tested further in a larger randomized clinical trial, but it all comes back to the recorded drop in B memory cells and effector T cells with an increased amount of Tregs.
Vitamin D plays a Crucial Role
As far as she is concerned, Costedoat-Chalumeau believes that these findings confirm vitamin D's crucial role in other aspects of the immune system. This lupus clinical study has shed light on a number of other interesting pathways that need to be explored. Among the identified changes, the research team observed the up-regulation of the TP53/CDKN1A-related pathway and the down-regulation of RNA polymerase functions and histone expression. She hopes that further research will provide more valuable insight into how this supplementation affects the mechanics of this chronic autoimmune disease.
Reducing the Effects of Autoimmune Disease
Lupus is characterized as an autoimmune disease, which means that the patient's immune system has produced certain autoantibodies which cause the body to literally attack itself. Clinical research on this disease has shown that these patients possess an inadequate amount of regulatory T cells (also known as Tregs) that normally would be capable of protecting against the onset of autoimmune disease. They also possess a larger amount of cytokine-producing T helper (Th) 17 cells and IFN-inducible genes, which can both trigger the protective immune system response. However, a number of recent studies conducted with vitamin D supplements have produced evidence which suggests that they could help to reduce the effects of autoimmune disease.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Vitamin D Supplementation
During a prospective clinical trial, Nathalie Costedoat-Chalumeau and her team wanted to evaluate the immunological effects and safety level of using vitamin D supplementation in 20 participants who had all been diagnosed with lupus and possessed naturally low levels of vitamin D. Over the course of six months, the team observed the reactions in lupus patients, and they discovered that the vitamin D supplements were not only well tolerated by these participants but, even more astonishingly, none of the of participants experienced a flare-up during the studies follow-up period.
The vitamin D supplementation actually increased the number of beneficial CD4+ cells and Treg cells in the participants of the study, while somehow lowering the number of Th1 and Th17 cells. The research team also found that it decreased the number of memory B cells and anti-DNA antibodies, which provided another boost against the symptoms of lupus. Incredibly, during their follow up, the researchers noted how these results were obtained without needing to make any adjustments to existing immunosuppressant drugs, nor were any other new medications administered during the study.
Results Suggest Beneficial Immunological Effect
Given that these results are still preliminary in nature, they do suggest that vitamin D is capable of providing a measure of immunological benefit for lupus patients. As Costedoat-Chalumeau states, these results will need to be tested further in a larger randomized clinical trial, but it all comes back to the recorded drop in B memory cells and effector T cells with an increased amount of Tregs.
Vitamin D plays a Crucial Role
As far as she is concerned, Costedoat-Chalumeau believes that these findings confirm vitamin D's crucial role in other aspects of the immune system. This lupus clinical study has shed light on a number of other interesting pathways that need to be explored. Among the identified changes, the research team observed the up-regulation of the TP53/CDKN1A-related pathway and the down-regulation of RNA polymerase functions and histone expression. She hopes that further research will provide more valuable insight into how this supplementation affects the mechanics of this chronic autoimmune disease.
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