7^th World Congress on
Immunology

Biography:

Meg Mangin, R.N. is the Executive Director of Chronic Illness Recovery. She has presented at many conferences, including Days of Molecular Medicine in Karolinska, the International Conference on Autoimmunity in Porto, Portugal, the American Society of Hypertension Meeting, Enabling Future Pharma, Perspectives in Rheumatic Diseases, Immunology Summit, International Lyme Society, American Association of Family Practitioners and the 18^th Vitamin D Workshop. She is the co-author of a chapter in the textbook Vitamin D: New Research and the lead author of the ground-breaking review article Inflammation and vitamin D: the infection connection published in the October 2014 issue of Inflammation Research.

 

Abstract:

Inflammation is believed to be a contributing factor in many chronic diseases. The influence of vitamin D deficiency on inflammation is being explored but studies have not demonstrated a causative effect. Low serum 25(OH)D is also found in healthy persons exposed to adequate sunlight. Despite increased vitamin D supplementation inflammatory diseases are increasing. The current method of determining vitamin D status may be at fault. The level of 25(OH)D doesn’t always reflect the level of 1,25(OH)2D. Assessment of both metabolites often reveals elevated 1,25(OH)2D, indicating abnormal vitamin D endocrine function. Some authorities now believe that low 25(OH)D is a consequence of chronic inflammation rather than the cause. Research points to a bacterial etiology pathogenesis for an inflammatory disease process which results in high 1,25(OH)2D and low 25(OH)D. Immunotherapy, directed at eradicating persistent intracellular pathogens, corrects dysregulated vitamin D metabolism and resolves inflammatory symptoms. This article reviews vitamin D’s influence on the immune system, examines the myths regarding vitamin D photosynthesis, discusses ways to accurately assess vitamin D status, describes the risks of supplementation, explains the effect of persistent infection on vitamin D metabolism and presents a novel immunotherapy which provides evidence of an infection connection to inflammation.