Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to B Cell Activation in Patients and Controls
Aug
5
Written by:
8/5/2011
A study by researchers at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation published on August 2, 2011 shows that both lupus patients and control subjects without lupus with vitamin D insufficiency had high levels of intracellular phospho-ERK1/2, a marker of B cell activation. B cell activation is the first step in the production of autoantibodies. The control subjects without lupus who showed increased B cell activation were also more likely to have positive ANA test results.
The study showed that low 25 OH vitamin D levels were signicantly more common among lupus patients and control subjects with positive ANA test results. Levels of vitamin D also correlated with the severity of the disease, with the lowest levels seen in patients with the most severe disease course. The study concluded that vitamin D repletion should be used in patients with lupus.
Read my article on suite 101 describing this study and related research showing the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in autoimmune diseases.
Source: Vitamin D Council Newsletter, Aug 4, 2011
Written and Copyrighted by Elaine Moore ©2011