Rising rates of urbanization and the global trend towards a more Western lifestyle correlates with increased incidence of both Vitamin D deficiency and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The Vitamin D Hypothesis is the most current and prevalent theory that explains the rising cases of IBD. This hypothesis postulates that decreased ultraviolet radiation and dietary variety predispose certain populations to develop IBD. Vitamin D has an active role within the immune system, suppressing the development and function of pro-inflammatory T helper cells while promoting the development and action of immunotolerant regulatory T cells. IBD patients receive pharmaceutical immunotherapies that antagonize pro-inflammatory markers. Though Vitamin D is typically prescribed to support skeletal development, it may also be considered an adjunct therapy to prevent gastrointestinal flares in patients with IBD. However, the current standard of care for treating Vitamin D deficiency is prescribing daily Vitamin D supplements. On average, children exhibit poor compliance when prescribed a daily dosing regimen, especially when they do not experience a clear, direct benefit after taking their daily dose. An alternative to the daily dosing regimen is a high-dose, interval regimen of Vitamin D supplementation. Recent studies have demonstrated that high doses of Vitamin D are safe and effective at raising serum Vitamin D levels to optimal levels (40-60 ng/mL) in the pediatric population. Moreover, IBD patients with optimal Vitamin D levels appear to experience significantly fewer gastrointestinal flare-ups and hospitalizations. There is little existing research reporting on the use of high-dose, interval Vitamin D supplementation. As such, more longitudinal studies need to be performed to assess not only patients’ Vitamin D status but also their levels of relevant immunological markers in their serum, such as pro-inflammatory cytokines and regulatory T cells. These efforts would enable researchers to definitively conclude the effectiveness of high dose interval Vitamin D supplementation to raise serum Vitamin D levels and assess the impact of Vitamin D supplementation on the immune system in patients with IBD.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/43329 |
| Date | 10 November 2021 |
| Creators | Bulekova, Nadezhda |
| Contributors | Rufo, Paul, Gerstenfeld, Louis |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | Attribution 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
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