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"With daily news reports warning of a swine flu pandemic, members have besieged our health advisors with questions about what they should do to protect themselves against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus. The good news is that Life Extension® members obtain a considerable amount of immune support via the supplements they already use, especially those taking high-dose vitamin D. An important question, however, is what one should do if they develop symptoms of a viral infection? As the days grow colder, the risks of contracting common flu and cold viruses increase. Each year, flu virus infections kill around 36,000 Americans and cause miseries for millions.1 An outbreak of the swine flu virus is expected this winter. While certain supplements (and drugs) purport to shorten the duration of a viral infection, most of them fail to provide significant relief. Over the past 28 years, Life Extension® personnel have experimented with various nutrients, hormones, and drugs in order to minimize the impact of the common cold and typical flu viruses. In this article, I will reveal what has worked for me personally to ward off common cold/flu viruses and what has been validated in the scientific literature to be effective. I will also elaborate on some aggressive prescription drug strategies to consider in the event that you contract a severe form of swine flu or other type of influenza."

Psoriasis is an auto-immune chronic condition that affects the growth cycle of skin cells. Treat your Psoriasis with Homeopathy at Dr. Batra's.

Evolution and function of vitamin D. Holick MF. Recent Results Cancer Res. 2003;164:3-28. Review. PMID: 12899511

Vitamin D and autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Cutolo M. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2009 Mar;48(3):210-2. Epub 2008 Oct 17. PMID: 18930963 doi:10.1093/rheumatology/ken394

Vitamin D treatment in multiple sclerosis. Myhr KM. J Neurol Sci. 2009 Jun 22. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19549608 doi:10.1016/j.jns.2009.05.002 Epidemiological evidence combined with clinical and laboratory analyses, and experimental animal models, suggest a possible influence of vitamin D on MS susceptibility as well as clinical disease activity. Supplement with vitamin D may reduce the risk of developing MS. An intervention may also reduce the risk of conversion from a first clinical event suggestive of MS to clinical definite MS, as well as reduce the relapse rate among patients with relapsing remitting MS. More studies are, however, needed to determine optimal dose and serum level for vitamin D, as well as target populations and optimal timing for intervention.

Reversing bacteria-induced vitamin D receptor dysfunction is key to autoimmune disease. Waterhouse JC, Perez TH, Albert PJ. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Sep;1173:757-65. PMID: 19758226

October 6th, 2008 A study led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine suggests that use of oral Vitamin D supplements bolsters production of a protective chemical normally found in the skin, and may help prevent skin infections that are a common result of atopic dermatitis, the most common form of eczema.

Association Between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection. \nAdit A. Ginde, MD, MPH; Jonathan M. Mansbach, MD; Carlos A. Camargo Jr, MD, DrPH . \nArch Intern Med. 2009;169(4):384-390\n

Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in young children undergoing placement of tympanostomy tubes.\nLinday LA, Shindledecker RD, Dolitsky JN, Chen TC, Holick MF.\nAnn Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2008 Oct;117(10):740-4.\nPMID: 18998501

'Vitamin D Induces Innate Antibacterial Responses in Human Trophoblasts via an Intracrine Pathway.\nLiu N, Kaplan AT, Low J, Nguyen L, Liu GY, Equils O, Hewison M.\nBiol Reprod. 2009 Mar;80(3):398-406. Epub 2008 Nov 12.\nPMID: 19005165DOI: 10.1095/biolreprod.108.073577

Vitamin D supplementation to prevent infections: a sub-study of a randomised placebo-controlled trial in older people (RECORD trial, ISRCTN 51647438).\nAvenell A, Cook JA, Maclennan GS, Macpherson GC.\nAge Ageing. 2007 Sep;36(5):574-7. Epub 2007 Aug 15. No abstract available.\nPMID: 17702768 \ndoi:10.1093/ageing/afm091

Human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP) gene is a direct target of the vitamin D receptor and is strongly up-regulated in myeloid cells by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3.\nGombart AF, Borregaard N, Koeffler HP.\nFASEB J. 2005 Jul;19(9):1067-77.\nPMID: 15985530

In the July 2005 FASEB Journal, Adrian F. Gombart of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and his colleagues reported that vitamin D boosts production in white blood cells of one of the antimicrobial compounds that defends the body against germs.\n\nImmediately, Cannell says, the proverbial lightbulb went on in his head: Maybe the high doses of vitamin D that he had been prescribing to virtually all the men on his ward had boosted their natural arsenal of the antimicrobial, called cathelicidin, and protected them from flu. Cannell had been administering the vitamin D because his patients, like many other people in the industrial world, had shown a deficiency:

Is sunshine more than just a home remedy for a cold? New research suggests it may be: In a study that will be published tomorrow, people with low levels of vitamin D - also known as the "sunshine vitamin" - were more likely to catch cold and flu than folks with adequate amounts. The effect of the vitamin was strongest in people with asthma and other lung diseases who are predisposed to respiratory infections.

Dusso AS, Brown AJ, Slatopolsky E. Vitamin D. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2005 Jul;289(1):F8-28. Review. PMID: 15951480 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

It seems not a single day passes that I don't learn something new about this unique hormone (mis)named "vitamin D." \nFrom its humble beginnings recognized only as the factor responsible for bone maturation (with deficiency leading to childhood rickets), vitamin D now commands a recognized role in almost every conceivable aspect of health and disease. \n

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for maintaining normal calcium metabolism (1). Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) can be synthesized by humans in the skin upon exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation from sunlight, or it can be obtained from the diet. Plants synthesize ergosterol, which is converted to vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) by ultraviolet light. Vitamin D2 is less active in birds than vitamin D3 and may also be less active in humans (2). When exposure to UVB radiation is insufficient for the synthesis of adequate amounts of vitamin D3 in the skin, adequate intake of vitamin D from the diet is essential for health.

"Below is a list of summary of actions of Vitamin D (Hormone D)"

"Cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide is a family of polypeptides found in lysosomes in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs).[1] Members of the cathelicidin family of antimicrobial polypeptides are characterized by a highly conserved region (cathelin domain) and a highly variable cathelicidin peptide domain. Cathelicidin peptides have been isolated from many different species of mammals. Cathelicidins were originally found in neutrophils but have since been found in many other cells including epithelial cells and macrophages activated by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or the hormone 1,25-D"