Oral Vitamin D Fights Skin Infection

SAN DIEGO—Taking oral vitamin D may help prevent skin infections in adults with atopic dermatitis (AD), according to researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine (J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008;122(4):829-31). For the single center, controlled study, researchers recruited 14 control patients and 14 adults with moderate to severe AD; skin punch biopsies were taken at baseline, and calcium and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels obtained. All subjects were given 4,000 IU/d of oral vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) for 21 days.

After supplementation, the skin lesions in AD patients showed significantly higher levels of cathelicidin, a peptide produced by the body to protect against microbial infection. Normal skin of both control and AD subjects also showed increases in cathelicidin levels. Serum calcium levels declined slightly in both groups of subjects, while 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels increased.

The researchers concluded supplementation may increase the levels of cathelicidin in lesional skin, protecting against infection associated with injury.