More Info Uncovered for Vitamin D Deficiency Illnesses

It's already known that Vitamin D deficiency is associated with several conditions including multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis.

KYW medical editor Dr. Brian McDonough reports that researchers from Oxford University are trying to figure out why, and they believe it could come down to an effect on the genes.

Vitamin D has an effect on genes through a vitamin D receptor which binds to specific locations on the human genome and that can influence the way genes are expressed.  The investigators found that vitamin D receptor binding, as it's called, is increased in areas of the human body associated with these autoimmune diseases.

The findings are important because they look at ways in which we might be able to attack the problem down the line.