DOES VITAMIN D HELP PEOPLE WITH LUPUS? CHICAGO - The first study
to report the effects vitamin D has on the immune system of
people with lupus was reported this week a the American College
of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago. Systemic
lupus erythematosus, also called SLE or lupus, is a chronic
inflammatory disease that can affect the skin, joints, kidneys,
lungs, nervous system, and/or other organs of the body. The most
common symptoms include skin rashes and arthritis, often
accompanied by fatigue and fever. Lupus occurs mostly in women,
typically developing in individuals in their twenties and
thirties - prime child-bearing age. There is a connection
between lupus and the disturbance of regulatory T cells (which
play an important role in maintaining a healthy immune system),
T helper lymphocytes (white blood cells that assist other white
blood cells in the immune system), and B cells (which make
antibodies that fight off attacks on the immune system). Vitamin
D has been shown to affect the