Sunshine/light exposure as therapy

According to the Marshall PathogenesisA description for how chronic inflammatory diseases originate and develop., light-related changes in mood can be attributed to fluctuations in 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin DPrimary biologically active vitamin D hormone. Activates the vitamin D nuclear receptor. Produced by hydroxylation of 25-D. Also known as 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D and calcitirol. (1,25-DPrimary biologically active vitamin D hormone. Activates the vitamin D nuclear receptor. Produced by hydroxylation of 25-D. Also known as 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D and calcitirol.). Such reactions exist in people who suffer from “seasonal affective disorder” as well as those who are addicted to or dependent upon tanning.

Contrary to popular belief, epidemiological research points to an increase in suicide across countries during the beginning of the summer months when people tend to get more light exposure.

Light exposure does nothing to resolve underlying disease state and can actually delay progress for Marshall ProtocolA curative medical treatment for chronic inflammatory disease. Based on the Marshall Pathogenesis. (MP) patients. Certainly prolonged light exposure has been shown to increase skin melanoma – the World Health Organization now categorizes tanning beds under the highest cancer risk category.¹⁾

MP patients who have completed the treatment have been able to attest to the fact that sunshine is not necessary for good health or happiness.

Despite what some researchers have argued, latitude studies that try to tie ambient solar UV radiation to prevalence of disease have been inconclusive.

In spite of a widespread belief that the peak occurs in late autumn and early winter,²⁾ a positive correlation between sunlight and suicide has been demonstrated by several researchers.

We found a remarkably consistent pattern of seasonality with peak incidence around June in the northern hemisphere and December in the southern hemisphere. Moreover, there was a positive association between the seasonal amplitude of suicide (measured by relative risk) and total sunshine in the corresponding country. These findings indicate that sunshine may have a triggering effect on suicide….

Eleni Petridou, et al ³⁾

Petridou's work is striking, because it identifies an effect for all 20 countries studied:

Increased summer incidence of suicide has also been identified in other countries including Finland,⁴⁾ Norway,⁵⁾ Belgium,⁶⁾ France,⁷⁾ Italy,⁸⁾ Japan,⁹⁾ USA,¹⁰⁾ Lithuania,¹¹⁾ Switzerland,¹²⁾ Chile,¹³⁾ and South Africa.¹⁴⁾

In many, if not all, of these studies the increased incidence of suicide was shown to be independent of an increase in homicide.

A 2011 study by Damian et al. concluded that exposure to sunlight even at suberythemal levels – sunlight which doesn't cause redness – is “profoundly immunosuppressive” in humans and that it is the immune-suppressive effects of sunlight that play a central role in skin carcinogenesis.¹⁵⁾

Certain support for this study comes from a 2011 Australian paper that found that 8 week old mice given a single exposure of ultraviolet radiation had suppressed immunity.¹⁶⁾

The Vitamin D ReceptorA nuclear receptor located throughout the body that plays a key role in the innate immune response. (VDRThe Vitamin D Receptor. A nuclear receptor located throughout the body that plays a key role in the innate immune response.) is at the heart of innate immunityThe body's first line of defense against intracellular and other pathogens. According to the Marshall Pathogenesis the innate immune system becomes disabled as patients develop chronic disease., transcribing over 913 genes. In a healthy person, conversion of additional 25-DThe vitamin D metabolite widely (and erroneously) considered best indicator of vitamin D "deficiency." Inactivates the Vitamin D Nuclear Receptor. Produced by hydroxylation of vitamin D3 in the liver. into 1,25-D leads to the transcription of antimicrobial peptidesBody’s naturally produced broad-spectrum antibacterials which target pathogens. and bacterial die-off. In a patient sick with chronic disease the VDR is blocked by bacterial ligands and levels of 1,25-D escalate to the point where other receptors are blocked from transcribing their antimicrobial peptides. An inactive immune response leads to a reduction in immunopathologyA temporary increase in disease symptoms experienced by Marshall Protocol patients that results from the release of cytokines and endotoxins as disease-causing bacteria are killed. and consequently feelings of temporary well-being.

This phenomenon can be observed among different patient populations.

In recent years, researchers have begun to describe people addicted to tanning, at least according to criteria set out by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for substance-related disorders.¹⁷⁾ One research team calls the addiction “UV light substance-related disorder.”¹⁸⁾ A 2010 study suggests individuals who have used indoor tanning facilities may meet criteria for addiction, and may also be more prone to anxiety symptoms and substance use.¹⁹⁾ Among 229 study participants (students at a northeastern U.S. college) who had used indoor tanning facilities, the average number of visits during a given year was 23. A total of 90 (39.3 percent) met criteria for tanning addiction on one measure and 70 (30.6 percent) met criteria on the other measure. Students who did meet these criteria were more likely to report symptoms of anxiety and use of alcohol, marijuana and other substances than those who did not meet these criteria.

If associations between affective factors and indoor tanning behavior are replicated, results suggest that treating an underlying mood disorder may be a necessary step in reducing skin cancer risk among those who frequently tan indoors. Researchers have hypothesized that those who tan regularly year round may require more intensive intervention efforts, such as motivational interviewing, relative to those who tan periodically in response to mood changes or special events.

Catherine E. Mosher, Ph.D. and Sharon Danoff-Burg, Ph.D.²⁰⁾

Whether it is an addiction or dependency, the Marshall Pathogenesis states that people who experience symptom relief following light exposure are being immunosuppressed.

Conversely, when a patient's 1,25-D is reduced, activity of the innate immune system increases as do symptoms of disease. This can be seen in people said to suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms in the winter.

My mood improved seriously when I started wearing NoIRsSpecial sunglasses worn by Marshall Protocol patients to block light., the most powerful antidepressivum I ever used. Did not start the benicar yet. The antidepressive effect of avoiding bright light is an impressive proof for 1,25D being involved in depression.

Nightshade, MarshallProtocol.com

The “sparkle” is back. Now I don't feel depressed at all like I have in years past. No more SAD.

DThomas, MarshallProtocl.com

When I started Benicar [which lowers 1,25-D], my mood went way up as stress and anxiety went down. Felt like my brain had a big pressure load removed with the Benicar, and I mellowed right out. I have seen a number of people say that their moods improved tremendously when they started the Benicar.

Penny, MarshallProtocol.com

• "Why Am I Sick?" (Nudist Forum) - a number of devoted nudists complain about their symptoms of inflammatory disease
• Too Much Sunshine Spurs Suicides in Arctic, Study Says – review of a 2009 BMC Psychiatry article,²¹⁾ which showed that suicide was much more common among Greenland residents in the summer than the winter months

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Eye Contact Lens. 2011 Jul;37(4):176-84. The mechanisms and consequences of ultraviolet-induced immunosuppression in the skin and eye. Norval M. Source From Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. Abstract Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) of the skin results in immune suppression to antigens encountered shortly after the exposure. The pathways leading to the downregulation in immunity are complex, initiated by chromophores located at the surface of the skin and ending with the generation of immunosuppressive mediators and regulatory cells. Ultraviolet-induced immunosuppression can be considered not only as beneficial, such as in preventing chronic inflammatory responses and allergic and automimmune reactions, but it can also be detrimental, such as in the lack of control of skin tumors and infectious diseases. The eye is an immune privileged site through a wide variety of mechanisms that allow selected immune responses without causing inflammationThe complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli such as pathogens or damaged cells. It is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli as well as initiate the healing process for the tissue.. The role of UVR in altering immune responses in the eye is not clear and is discussed in relation to photokeratitis, herpetic stromal keratitis, and pterygium. PMID: 21709488

Little information is available currently as most epidemiological surveys that have monitored immune responses to vaccines do not consider solar UVR or the sun exposure of individuals, although several reports give some “hints” that UVR might be important. Thus, it has been reported that the efficacy of vaccination using Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG)62 and poliovirus 63 increased as the latitude increased, and the efficacy increased if the vaccines for poliovirus, influenza A and B, and rubella 64 were administered in the winter months compared with administration in the summer months.

62. Colditz GA, Brewer TF, Berkey CS, et al. Efficacy of BCG vaccine in the prevention of tuberculosis. Meta-analysis of the published literature. JAMA 1994;271:698-702. Bibliographic Links [Context Link]

63. John TJ, Jayabal P. Oral polio vaccination of children in the tropics. I. The poor seroconversion rates and the absence of viral interference. Am J Epidemiol 1972;96:263-269. Bibliographic Links [Context Link]

64. Linder N, Abudi Y, Abdulla W, et al. Effect of season of inoculation on immune response to rubella vaccine in children. J Trop Pediatr [published online ahead of print November 4, 2009]. doi:10.1093/tropej/fmp104. [Context Link]

http://www.tgdaily.com/trendwatch-brief/57832-are-tanning-bed-addicts-like-junkies

So the next question is whether Vitamin D is addictive. I wonder how many years it will be until somebody studies that :)

..Trevor..

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100303162854.htm

Med Hypotheses. 2001 Nov;57(5):609-11. Role of endogenous opioids in the effects of light on mood and behavior.²²⁾ Sher L. drleosher@aol.com Abstract Skin cells produce endogenous opioids in response to light. This results in increased skin and plasma levels of endogenous opioids. Increased plasma levels of endogenous opioids may improve mood and affect behavior. The author suggests that improvement in mood after exposure to light may be related to the light-induced increase in levels of endogenous opioids. The author speculates that genetic factors may affect the response of skin cells to light: different people may have different genetically determined responses to natural or artificial light. The author also suggests that light may affect endogenous opioids via several different mechanisms. Copyright 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd. PMID: 11735320

Arch Dermatol. 2009 May;145(5):552-6. Adoption of Western culture by Californian Asian Americans: attitudes and practices promoting sun exposure. Gorell E, Lee C, Muñoz C, Chang AL. Department of Dermatology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Abstract OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the adoption of Western culture is associated with attitudes and practices promoting sun exposure among Asian Americans. DESIGN: Survey conducted from November 28, 2007, to January 28, 2008. SETTING: Primarily northern California community groups via online survey. PARTICIPANTS: Adult volunteers who self-identified as Asian American. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Results based on 546 questionnaires returned. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 74.4%. Multivariate regression analysis controlling for age and skin type showed that westernization (as determined by generation in the United States, location raised, or self-rated acculturation) was associated with attitudes and behaviors promoting sun exposure (including the belief that having a tan is attractive, negative attitudes toward use of sunscreen and sun protective clothing, and increased weekend sun exposure, lying out to get a tan, and tanning bed use) at a level of P < .05. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that adoption of Western culture may be associated with attitudes and behaviors promoting sun exposure among Asian Americans. This group should be targeted by dermatologists for increased education regarding sun protection, solar damage, and skin cancer prevention and detection. PMID: 19451499

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110309073938.htm

Sunlight Can Influence the Breakdown of Medicines in the Body

ScienceDaily (Mar. 11, 2011) — A study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet has shown that the body's ability to break down medicines may be closely related to exposure to sunlight, and thus may vary with the seasons. The findings offer a completely new model to explain individual differences in the effects of drugs, and how the surroundings can influence the body's ability to deal with toxins.

The study will be published in the scientific journal Drug Metabolism & Disposition and is based on nearly 70,000 analyses from patients who have undergone regular monitoring of the levels of drugs in their blood. The drugs taken by these patients are used to suppress the immune system in association with organ transplants. Samples taken during the winter months were compared with those taken late in the summer.

A more detailed analysis showed that the concentrations of drugs such as tacrolimus and sirolimus, which are used to prevent rejection following transplantation, vary throughout the year in a manner that closely reflects changes in the level of vitamin D in the body. The ability of the body to form vitamin D depends on sunlight, and the highest levels in the patients taking part in the study were reached during that part of the year when the levels of the drugs were lowest.

The connection between sunlight, vitamin D and variations in drug concentration is believed to arise from the activation by vitamin D of the detoxification system of the liver by increasing the amount of an enzyme known as CYP3A4. This enzyme, in turn, is responsible for the breakdown of tacrolimus and sirolimus.

“If the breakdown capacity increases, then higher doses of a drug are normally required in order to achieve the same effect. More research will be needed to confirm the results, but CYP3A4 is considered to be the most important enzyme in drug turnover in the body, and the results may have significance for many drugs,” says Jonatan Lindh at the Department of Laboratory Medicine and one of the scientists who carried out the study.

The effects of vitamin D on CYP3A4 have previously been demonstrated in experiments in cell cultures. But the study now to be published shows for the first time that the mechanism can play an important role in the pharmacological treatment of patients, and it shows for the first time that variation in exposure to sunlight may affect the sensitivity of individuals to drugs.

From: Dr Trevor Marshall Date: 2011-03-13 11:37:08 Reply: http://marshallprotocol.com/reply.php?topic_id=11829

Very interesting. They are still assuming that the seasonal changes in Vit D are due to sun exposure during each season, and not to changes in some other metabolite as seasons fluctuate (body temperature, for example).

A bad error, IMO. The evidence just isn't there that sunlight directly controls the level of Vitamin D synthesised in the human body :)

Sun exposure may trigger certain autoimmune diseases in women July 30, 2009 articlecomments (1)share Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight may be associated with the development of certain autoimmune diseases, particularly in women, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. “This study found that women who lived in areas with higher levels of UV exposure when they developed an autoimmuneA condition or disease thought to arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body muscle disease called myositis were more likely to develop the form known as dermatomyositis, which weakens the muscles and causes distinctive rashes, instead of the form called polymyositis that does not have a rash,” said Frederick W. Miller, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Environmental Autoimmunity Group, Program of Clinical Research, at NIEHS. “Although we have not shown a direct cause and effect link between UV exposure and this particular autoimmune disease, this study confirms the association between UV levels and the frequency of dermatomyositis that we found in a previous investigation,” said Miller. The study, published in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, is also the first to evaluate and find a possible UV radiation association in autoimmune diseases in women. According to Miller, women are more likely than men to develop many autoimmune diseases, but the reasons for this have not been clear. “We only found the association between UV exposure and dermatomyositis in women and not in men, and it could be that inherent differences in how women and men respond to UV radiation may play a role in the development of certain autoimmune diseases,” said Dr. Miller. Miller also noted that other researchers have shown that female mice develop more skin inflammation after UV light exposure compared to male mice and these effects may be related to the new findings in dermatomyositis. The study was designed to determine if there was a relationship between the level of UV exposure at the onset of the disease and the type of myositis and autoantibodies that people developed. Dermatomyositis and polymyositis are the two major forms of myositis and both are considered autoimmune diseases, in which the body's immune system attacks muscle or skin and sometimes other tissues. Dermatomyositis is typically accompanied by a distinctive reddish-purple rash on the upper eyelids or over the knuckles and is often made worse with sun exposure. To conduct the study, the NIEHS researchers collaborated with myositis centers across the country that had seen 380 patients who had been diagnosed with dermatomyositis or polymyositis and determined their autoantibodies. “Patients with autoimmune diseases make a variety of autoantibodies that are unique to different conditions. One autoantibody specifically associated with dermatomyositis is called the anti-Mi-2 autoantibody and we know from our previous research that UV radiation increases levels of the Mi-2 protein that this autoantibody binds to,” said Miller. In addition to finding an association between the level of UV radiation and the proportion of women who developed dermatomyositis compared to polymyositis, the researchers found an association between UV levels and the proportion of women with the anti-Mi-2 autoantibody. “More research is clearly needed to understand the potential links between UV radiation and the development of autoimmune diseases and autoantibodies in women,” said Miller. “While the causes of autoimmune diseases are not known, we suspect from emerging research that they develop after one or more environmental exposures in genetically susceptible people,” said NIEHS Director Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D. “This study adds UV radiation to the growing list of environmental exposures possibly important in the development of autoimmune diseases.” More information: Love LA, Weinberg CR, McConnaughey DR, Oddis CV, Medsger TA, Reveille JD, Arnett FC, Targoff IN, Miller FW. “Ultraviolet Radiation Intensity Predicts the Relative Distribution of Dermatomyositis and Anti-Mi-2 Autoantibodies in Women.” Arthritis & Rheumatism. August, 2009. Source: NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Arthritis Rheum. 2009 Aug;60(8):2499-504. Ultraviolet radiation intensity predicts the relative distribution of dermatomyositis and anti-Mi-2 autoantibodies in women. Love LA, Weinberg CR, McConnaughey DR, Oddis CV, Medsger TA Jr, Reveille JD, Arnett FC, Targoff IN, Miller FW. Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA. Abstract OBJECTIVE: Because studies suggest that ultraviolet (UV) radiation modulates the myositis phenotype and Mi-2 autoantigen expression, we conducted a retrospective investigation to determine whether UV radiation may influence the relative prevalence of dermatomyositis and anti-Mi-2 autoantibodies in the US. METHODS: We assessed the relationship between surface UV radiation intensity in the state of residence at the time of onset with the relative prevalence of dermatomyositis and myositis autoantibodies in 380 patients with myositis from referral centers in the US. Myositis autoantibodies were detected by validated immunoprecipitation assays. Surface UV radiation intensity was estimated from UV Index data collected by the US National Weather Service. RESULTS: UV radiation intensity was associated with the relative proportion of patients with dermatomyositis (odds ratio [OR] 2.3, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.9-5.8) and with the proportion of patients expressing anti-Mi-2 autoantibodies (OR 6.0, 95% CI 1.1-34.1). Modeling of these data showed that these associations were confined to women (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.3-11.0 and OR 17.3, 95% CI 1.8-162.4, respectively) and suggests that sex influences the effects of UV radiation on autoimmune disorders. Significant associations were not observed in men, nor were UV radiation levels related to the presence of antisynthetase or anti-signal recognition particle autoantibodies. CONCLUSION: This first study of the distribution of myositis phenotypes and UV radiation exposure in the US showed that UV radiation may modulate the clinical and immunologic expression of autoimmune disease in women. Further investigation of the mechanisms by which these effects are produced may provide insights into pathogenesis and suggest therapeutic or preventative strategies. PMID: 19644877