foodconsumer.org: Vitamin D fights HIV

Vitamin D fights HIV
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admin on 06/27/2010 14:19:00
 
Vitamin D fights HIV
Taking high doses of vitamin D may slow the disease progression and reduce the
risk of death in people with HIV, a new study published in the Jan 2010 issue of
PLoS One suggests.
The study led by Mehta S at Harvard School of Public Health showed HIV carriers
with high serum vitamin D levels were at low risk of disease progression,
mortality and severe anemia.
Vitamin D has been known to be involved in the immune system. In the study, the
researchers  wanted to know if vitamin D plays a role in slowing HIV disease
progression and preventing mortality.
Mehta et al. analysed data on 884 HIV-infected pregnant women who were enrolled
in a trial of multivitamin supplementation in Tanzania. The subjects were
followed up for an average of 69 months.
Those who had lower than 32 ng/mL of serum vitamin D were 25 percent more likely
to experience disease progression to WHO HIV disease stage III or greater,
compared to those who had high levels.
Women with low vitamin D were also 47 percent more likely to develop severe
anemia during the follow-up compared to those with adequate vitamin D levels.
Vitamin D did not seem to have an association with T-cell counts, but women in
the highest vitamin D quintile had a 42 percent lower risk of all-cause
mortality compared to those in the lowest quintile.
The researchers suggested that if confirmed in radamized trials, vitamin D
supplementation could represent a simple and inexpensive method to slow the
disease progression and reduce risk of severe anemia and death.
Studies have revealed that HIV carriers are often vitamin D deficient.
Vitamin D is known to help prevent flu including swine flu, cancers, diabetes
and heart disease among other conditions, according to Dr. John Cannell, a
vitamin D expert at vitamin D Council.
June 27th is the National HIV Testing Day
June 27th is the National HIV Testing Day, an annual campaign coordinated by the
National Association of People with AIDS or NAPWA to encourage people of all
ages to take the test.
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 20 percent of the
one million HIV carriers do not know they are infected with the deadly virus
which can cause AIDS - a disease that kills 14,000 people each year in the US.
Early diagnosis of HIV infection is good both for the patients and those who are
in close physical contract with them.
The CDC recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 74 get tested for
HIV at least once in their lifetime and those who are at high risk such as gay
and bisexual men, injection drug users or people with multiple sexual partners
should be tested once a year.
The purpose of the HIV testing is to diagnose the HIV infection early so the HIV
carriers may get treated early, which is considered beneficial.
By David Liu