Systemic Role for Vitamin D in the Treatment of Psoriasis and Metabolic Syndrome

Dermatology Research and Practice, Volume 2011 (2011), Article ID 276079, 4 pages
doi:10.1155/2011/276079. Review Article
Lisa Wenyang Fu1 and Ronald Vender1,2
1 Department of Medicine, McMaster University, 1200 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, CanadaL8N 3Z5
2 Dermatrials Research, Dermatology Centre, 132 Young Street, Hamilton, ON, CanadaL8N 1V6
Received 13 December 2010; Revised 4 February 2011; Accepted 1 April 2011
Copyright © 2011 Lisa Wenyang Fu and Ronald Vender. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The novel discovery of the systemic role of vitamin D in the modulation of the immune system especially the Type 1 helper T cell (Th1) pathway reveals its potential for treating Th1 inflammatory diseases. Psoriasis has been recently established to be a systemic disease centered on inflammation and involvement of cytokines of the Th1 pathway. There is an increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with psoriasis. Metabolic syndrome also involves a proinflammatory state. This paper proposes the idea of the potential use of oral vitamin D to treat psoriasis and metabolic syndrome concurrently. We propose there is merit in more clinical trials investigating the use of vitamin D to treat both psoriasis and metabolic syndrome through its anti-inflammatory effects. On application to psoriasis management and prognosis, the goal is to decrease the risk for cardiovascular disease and decrease disease morbidity and mortality.

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See also VitaminDWiki

• Overview Metabolic Syndrome and vitamin D
• All items in category Psoriasis and Vitamin D 72 items