However, as vitamin D was already in clinical use for other diseases, for example skin inflammation this should make it easier to transfer into treating arthritis.
The Birmingham team has found that the vitamin has a powerful effect on T-cells - white blood cells that play an important part in the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Their studies will aim to use vitamin D to re-programme T cells to behave in a less damaging way. ‘Overall, vitamin D is the most powerful regulator of T cell responses I have seen in 20 years of working in this field,’ said Dr Sansom.
‘We believe the time is right to explore this in more detail to generate enough strong data to allow these ideas to be tested in arthritis models, and then in patients.’
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For further information
Kate Chapple, Press Officer, University of Birmingham, tel 0121 414 2772 or 07789 921164.