Rheumatoid Arthritis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Rheumatoid Arthritis, including details on treatment, symptoms, causes, medication.

Vitamin D and autoimmunity: new aetiological and therapeutic considerations.

Arnson Y, Amital H, Shoenfeld Y

Department of Medicine D, Meir Medical Center, Kfar-Saba, affiliated to Tel-Aviv University Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Israel.

Vitamin D is frequently prescribed by rheumatologists to prevent and treat osteoporosis. Several observations have shown that vitamin D inhibits proinflammatory processes by suppressing the enhanced activity of immune cells that take part in the autoimmune reaction. Moreover, recent evidence strongly suggests that vitamin D supplementation may be therapeutically beneficial, particularly for Th1-mediated autoimmune disorders. Some reports imply that vitamin D may even be preventive in certain disorders such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes type 1. It seems that vitamin D has crossed the boundaries of calcium metabolism and has become a significant factor in a number of physiological functions, specifically as a biological inhibitor of inflammatory hyperactivity.

Published 13 August 2007 in Ann Rheum Dis, 66(9): 1137-42.
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