2011-10-13

Vitamin D is essential to curb tuberculosis, di

Vitamin D plays an essential role in the effective response of the immune system against infections such as tuberculosis, reveals a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Transnational Medicine, quoted by AFP.

Vitamin D plays an essential role in the effective response of the immune system against infections such as tuberculosis, reveals a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Transnational Medicine, quoted by AFP. The discovery could lead to treatments for tuberculosis, which kills 1.8 million people. People who have darker skin are generally more vulnerable to disease, which affects certain regions in higher proportions in Africa. According to researchers, the increased sensitivity to the Koch bacillus that causes tuberculosis, can be explained partly by the greater abundance of melanin, the pigment protective against ultraviolet rays, the dark-skinned people. By reducing the absorption of sunlight, melanin also reduces the production of vitamin D. Scientists have found a reduction of 85 percent of the formation of colonies of bacteria responsible for tuberculosis in the body of people treated with the protein interferon, associated with sufficient levels of vitamin D. The protein is produced by T lymphocytes, or blood T cells, crucial for the body's immune response. The interferon allows these cells communicate with each other and to launch an attack against the tuberculosis bacterium. "We anticipate that a discovery has increased levels of vitamin D, dietary supplements, improves the body's immune response," argued Robert Modlin, lead study author and professor of dermatology and microbiology at the School of Medicine, University of California, the United States.