Vitamin D -- already discussed?

[jakeb]

So there's a lot of buzz surrounding Vitamin D lately and its importance in preventing cancer. While I was reading about it, I came across this study:

http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/11/6/549

It basically states that male pattern baldness is a sign that a person is at a higher risk for developing prostate cancer (it always seems to come back to the prostate, doesn't it?).

The most interesting part of this for me was this:

Vitamin D (as 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D) inhibits prostate cell growth (30) , and polymorphic variation in the VDR has been linked to prostate cancer risk (31) . 1,25-Hydroxyvitamin D resistance has been linked to alopecia in humans (32) , and VDR knockout mice also develop alopecia (33) .

If I'm reading that correctly, mice which had the Vitamin D3 Receptor (VDR) gene disabled developed hair loss. In addition, Vitamin D slows down runaway prostate growth.

So is it reasonable to assume that Vitamin D deficiency OR a lessened ability to process vitamin D could be connected to male pattern baldness? And if it is, could Vitamin D supplements help?

Has anyone tried this? Has this been discussed / debunked already? Looks promising to me... and at the very least, those recent studies recommend Vitamin D to reduce cancer risk in general.

*crosses fingers*

 

[jakeb]

another study

Vitamin D3 analogs stimulate hair growth in nude mice:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... uery_hl=41

Vitamin D3 analogs dramatically stimulated the hair growth of nude mice, although parental 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 had no effect.

If anyone can tell me what that means, you get a cookie.

 

[incubusor]

Doesn't milk have a lot of vitamin D? I drink 2 glasses a day and have been doing this for years. And I have hair loss.

 

[sublime]

 

[seekinghair]

What I´ve always found intriguing about the early onset of hairloss is its link to insulin resistance. Well, it doesn´t come as a surprise to me that Vitamin D deficiency has also be linked to insulin resistance.

http://www.mercola.com/2002/feb/23/vitamin_d.htm

It might well be that Vitamin D is key to understand the relation between hairloss and insulin resistance.

 

[So]

This topic has some relevance, the link between a Vitamin D defficiency and hair loss is more concerning that many of us are willing to place our faith in.

Not many people have chimed in on this topic, which I also theorised about before reading...

So is it that no one cares or desires to put forth discussion on this theory?

 

[the_swami]

So, thanks for revitalizing this thread. Vitamin D looks very interesting as a safe and cheap addition to proven therapies. I think I'll be eating that can of sardines each day again like I did a few years back (for a short time).

WikiP has a great overview of vitamin D:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_d

 

[powersam]

you also need calcium and iron in your body to be able to efficiently make d3. so milk and meat come in useful there.

 

[sublime]

:sleep:

 

[powersam]

i wasnt talking about supplements at all. i think you need calcium and iron to efficiently make d3 from exposure to sunlight. i'm going on what a doctor told me though, not personal research.

the one thing that puzzles me about this, is that black people have a lower incidence of male pattern baldness but they are crap at making vitamin d.

 

[the_swami]

the one thing that puzzles me about this, is that black people have a lower incidence of male pattern baldness but they are crap at making vitamin d.

You're right, that is interesting. Hadn't thought of that myself. Vitamin D (or any single supplement, hormone, etc, etc) is surely just a small part of the big picture.

 

[sublime]

unk:

 

[powersam]

i didnt say you couldnt make d3 without these things, but that you made it far better with them.

and yes there is less baldness in african americans. that is based on statistics. people always chime in with the "i know a bald black person so it cant be true" line. that kind of info doesnt hold any weight.

 

[sublime]

:sleep:

 

[powersam]

have emailed the institute of dermatology about rate of baldness in africans etc. should be receiving a reply soon.

as to vitamin d, doesnt it take only 15 minutes of sunlight a day to get the required amount?

and i am still certain that while calcium needs vitamin d to be absorbed, vitamin d needs calcium and iron to be efficiently produced.

 

[sublime]

:innocent:

 

[powersam]

afraid noones got back to me yet, i wait in hope of a reply.

in the mean time this line is pulled directly from Emedicine, which looks like quite a respected medical website

"Frequency: Male pattern baldness is a progressive process, occurring in more than 60% of men by age 60 years. The condition is more common in whites than in African Americans. African Americans have the lowest incidence of male pattern baldness among all ethnic groups."

from here http://www.emedicine.com/ent/topic108.htm

you have to scroll down a bit though