Home

Pregnancy and vitamin D

Related article: Pregnancy and fertility

1,25-D rises by 40% in the early pregnant decidua, meaning that its ability to dysregulate the nuclear receptors and the antimicrobial peptides (AmPs) they express is particularly prevalent during the first trimesters of pregnancy. The subsequent decrease in immune function slows immunopathology, resulting in symptomatic relief. But when the surge in 1,25-D disappears after pregnancy, AmP expression and immunopathology increase once again, leading to exacerbation of disease symptoms. This may explain why some women with autoimmune disease experience periods of palliation during gestation only to become increasingly symptomatic after giving birth.

Pregnancy increases 1,25-D

The following are some of the characteristics of 1,25-D related to pregnancy:

  • The 1,25-D levels increase throughout pregnancy in healthy women.1)
  • The level of 1,25-D is highest in the third trimester and falls soon after delivery in healthy women.2)
  • Increased serum 1,25-D levels persist through lactation.3)
  • High levels of 1,25-D during pregnancy can cause increased somnolence, fatigue and symptoms such as joint pain and breathing problems.
  • A healthy woman will have 1,25-D manufactured by the placenta during pregnancy, but the manufacture of 1,25-D in the kidneys will be down-regulated to compensate. The kidneys of a person with advanced Th1 disease, however, have usually lost the ability to adequately down-regulate the 1,25-D level, as there is too much 1,25-D being manufactured in the inflammation, in the eyes, and in the skin.
  • The interpretation of the 1,25-D data value during pregnancy will be more difficult. The 25-D levels may also be an aid to interpretation.

Pregnancy may cause disease exacerbation

In pregnancy, the placenta manufactures 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, primarily in the second and third trimesters, and the level of 1,25-D will soar. It is presumably produced to strengthen the immune system of the child, but it significantly overloads the immune system of mothers who are sufferers sarcoidosis or other Th1 inflammatory diseases. This is in addition to the 1,25-D produced by the sarcoid-activated macrophages.

Women have exposure to high levels of 1,25-D during pregnancy, as it is manufactured in the placenta, apparently in an attempt to protect the fetus. However, these bacteria have subverted that mechanism, over the centuries.

So females will have exposure to high levels of 1,25-D, sufficient to allow CWD to proliferate during pregnancy.

That is why there is a high rate of diagnosis of Th1 disease post-partum, and also why women with Th1 disease may feel good during their pregnancy (high 1,25-D shuts down their immune system) but have such a hard time post-partum, as their bodies readjust.

Trevor Marshall, PhD

1)
Ardawi MS, Nasrat HA, BA'Aqueel HS. Calcium-regulating hormones and parathyroid hormone-related peptide in normal human pregnancy and postpartum: a longitudinal study. Eur J Endocrinol. 1997 Oct;137(4):402-9. doi: 10.1530/eje.0.1370402.
[PMID: 9368509] [DOI: 10.1530/eje.0.1370402]
2)
Reddy GS, Norman AW, Willis DM, Goltzman D, Guyda H, Solomon S, Philips DR, Bishop JE, Mayer E. Regulation of vitamin D metabolism in normal human pregnancy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1983 Feb;56(2):363-70. doi: 10.1210/jcem-56-2-363.
[PMID: 6600459] [DOI: 10.1210/jcem-56-2-363]
3)
Lund B, Selnes A. Plasma 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels in pregnancy and lactation. Acta Endocrinol (Copenh). 1979 Oct;92(2):330-5. doi: 10.1530/acta.0.0920330.
[PMID: 494995] [DOI: 10.1530/acta.0.0920330]
home/pathogenesis/vitamind/pregnancy.txt · Last modified: 09.14.2022 by 127.0.0.1
© 2015, Autoimmunity Research Foundation. All Rights Reserved.