Scientists discover that even mild COVID-19 can alter brain proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease, potentially increasing dementia risk—raising urgent public health concerns.

[u/Wagamaga]

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/260553/covid-19-linked-increase-biomarkers-abnormal-brain/

[u/StreetWiseBarbarian]

Scientists also discovered that vitamin d alone in large, infrequent doses can prevent many of the inflammatory impacts of most common viruses, even preventing infection outright, as well as their spread, even though calcitriol and vitamin d’s uses as effective immune system modulators are well studied, most folks still won’t educate themselves cus it counters what they think they know about how our immune systems function. So I put together a brief summary of some of the research that is available.

Here’s a comprehensive guide to understanding why having high enough (70-80nl/mg) blood levels of d vitamin can keep you from getting covid, and most other common viruses as well as helping quickly end the systemic inflammation caused by them if you’re already sick, in a short timeframe:

..This is how vitamin D interacts with the immune system; specifically, what directly influences immune activity based on the amalgamation of several clinical trials as well as a meta study on dozens of others:

The Role of Vitamin D in Immune System Modulation

Vitamin D is a critical modulator of immune function, but it does not act on the immune system in isolation. Its effects are mediated through a complex network of hormones, enzymes, and signaling molecules that directly influence immune cell behavior. While vitamin D initiates or amplifies certain immune responses, it relies on intermediaries and supporting systems to achieve the effects ascribed to it.

How Vitamin D Functions

1.  Vitamin D Synthesis and Activation:

Vitamin D is primarily obtained through sunlight exposure (via the skin) or diet and exists in an inactive form. After conversion in the liver to 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25D), it is further hydroxylated in the kidney to its active form, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (calcitriol), by the enzyme 1-alpha-hydroxylase (CYP27B1). This active form binds to the vitamin D receptor (VDR), a transcription factor present in various immune cells, including T cells, B cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells.

2.  Local and Systemic Activity:

Vitamin D acts locally in immune environments (paracrine/autocrine activity) and systemically through endocrine signaling. Immune cells like macrophages and dendritic cells produce their own calcitriol via localized 1-alpha-hydroxylase, allowing for targeted modulation of immune responses.

3.  Gene Regulation:

When calcitriol binds to VDR, the complex forms a heterodimer with the retinoid X receptor (RXR). This dimer translocates to the cell nucleus, where it binds to vitamin D response elements (VDREs) on the DNA, regulating genes involved in immune function, including those encoding for antimicrobial peptides like cathelicidin and beta-defensin 4, which enhance innate immunity.

Direct Factors Influencing the Immune System

While vitamin D plays a key role, its actions are dependent on or complemented by other factors:

1.  Cytokines as Signaling Molecules:

Cytokines like IL-10, IL-6, IL-17, and TNF-α are directly responsible for modulating immune activity. For example:

• Vitamin D promotes the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-10) and suppresses pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-17).

• Cytokines like IFN-γ and IL-1 stimulate the production of localized calcitriol in macrophages, enhancing vitamin D’s effects.


2.  Parathyroid Hormone (PTH):

PTH stimulates renal production of calcitriol, ensuring sufficient systemic levels of active vitamin D for immune and skeletal functions.

3.  Innate Immune Receptors:

Immune cells directly respond to pathogens through receptors like Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which recognize microbial components (e.g., lipopolysaccharides). TLR activation triggers a cascade of events, including the upregulation of cathelicidin and other antimicrobial peptides, which is amplified by vitamin D.

4.  Transcription Factors like NF-kB:

The transcription factor NF-kB is essential for inflammatory signaling. While vitamin D modulates NF-kB activity, NF-kB directly binds to genes involved in immune activation, driving processes like inflammation and pathogen clearance.

5.  Other Hormonal Interactions:

• Glucocorticoids: Natural anti-inflammatory hormones that complement vitamin D in suppressing excessive immune responses.
• Sex Hormones: Estrogen and testosterone influence immune tolerance and inflammation.
• Thyroid Hormones: Regulate energy production and immune cell metabolism.


6.  Antigen Presentation and Adaptive Immunity:

Vitamin D’s effects on adaptive immunity are indirect. It inhibits B cell proliferation and promotes T regulatory cells (Tregs), which maintain immune tolerance. Additionally, it shifts T cell phenotypes from inflammatory (Th1 and Th17) to anti-inflammatory (Th2), reducing autoimmune tendencies.

Protective Immunity and Infection Prevention

The articles I’ve studied emphasize vitamin D’s role in reducing infection susceptibility through its effects on protective immunity:

1.  Innate Immune Enhancement:

Vitamin D increases the production of antimicrobial peptides like cathelicidin, which disrupt bacterial cell membranes and neutralize infections. TLR signaling is amplified by vitamin D to produce these peptides efficiently.

2.  Epidemiological Evidence:

Studies show a correlation between low vitamin D levels and increased respiratory infections, including influenza and tuberculosis. For example, military recruits with higher vitamin D levels had fewer respiratory infections.

3.  Infection Modulation:

Vitamin D administration has been linked to reduced infection rates in controlled studies, such as a 42% reduction in influenza incidence in one clinical trial.

Vitamin D and Autoimmune Disease

1.  Epidemiologic Links:

Low vitamin D levels are associated with increased risk and progression of autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and type 1 diabetes (T1D).

2.  Effects on Autoimmune Processes:

• Vitamin D inhibits B cell differentiation, reducing the production of autoantibodies.
• It suppresses inflammatory T cell responses (Th1/Th17) while promoting anti-inflammatory Tregs, reducing tissue damage.

3.  Disease Progression:

Vitamin D deficiency correlates with higher disease activity and severity in lupus, MS, and RA. For example, lupus patients often exhibit severe vitamin D deficiency, which aligns with increased disease activity.

Vitamin D is not directly responsible for every immune modulation effect. Instead, it operates dynamically within a network of hormones, enzymes, and signaling molecules that collectively influence immune function. Factors like cytokines, PTH, NF-kB, TLRs, and other hormones interact with or respond to vitamin D signaling, amplifying or complementing its effects. Thus, while vitamin D is a key regulator, it relies on this broader system to achieve its protective and modulatory roles in immunity and disease prevention.

[u/Carriage2York → u/StreetWiseBarbarian]

Great comment! Why in alone in large, infrequent doses? Is this better than taking, for example, 2000 IU daily?

[u/StreetWiseBarbarian → u/Carriage2York]

I was told about this dose from a really good friend who is admittedly a bit fringe and after trying to prove that it was a stupid idea unsuccessfully I decided to try it out myself and lo and behold. It has been a life-changing hack.

I used to get sick twice a year every year my whole life until I started doing this

That said it does seem like some people should approach this more carefully than others and it’s hard to say what markers if any mites indicate who those people are because some people do experience intense reactions from taking more than 10,000 IU

It does seem like those people are pretty rare, but I think taking a large dose starting with 10,000 IU seeing how that takes affect and then if there’s no problems there try a dose of 100,000 IU. It seems to me that there is some kind of a threshold for absorption of vitamin D that goes up the more that we take it on a consistent basis and so for me, the in frequent dose brought my levels up to 73.5-75nl/mg where’re taking daily doses of 5 to 10,000 IU failed to bring me higher than the mid 50s.

This is definitely experimental and I’m not promising anything, but there does seem to be a lot of efficacy for me and it’s worth mentioning that. I also get by annual blood tests to measure my parathyroid hormone and blood levels for vitamins and lipids as well.

So far, I’ve only talked to one person who has had a negative experience from taking more than 5000 IU at a time, but there could be more people like them and so I think everybody should approach this from a point of cautious experimentation and also talk to their doctor for some counsel on doing this safely even if they don’t recommend doing it at all

[u/StreetWiseBarbarian → u/StreetWiseBarbarian]

Apologies for the typos I’m dictating