Low vitamin D levels play an essential role in diabetes-and now researchers have discovered that a deficiency is the cause of clogged arteries and heart disease in diabetics.
The vitamin stops the inflammatory process in diabetics, which involves immune cells binding to blood vessels near the heart. When there is a vitamin D deficiency, a class of white blood cells are more likely to stick to cells in the artery wall, say researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis.
The research team had earlier discovered a direct link between a vitamin D deficiency and heart disease in diabetics, but their latest research uncovers the mechanism that takes place.
The next stage in their studies is to see if high vitamin D levels can reverse atherosclerosis, or clogged arteries, in diabetics.
(Source: Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2012; 287: 38482).
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