Testing Vitamin D Deficiency – Groundbreaking Opioid Addiction Study
A groundbreaking opioid addiction study points to a strong relationship between vitamin D deficiency and the markers of addiction. The other more obvious conclusion was that the vitamin D deficiency showed a strong sunbathing addiction.
A recent article in a leading medical journal covered an interesting study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). At first, I started to question the conclusion of the study. Once I realized MGH was the sponsor of the study, a second look at the article was required to see how vitamin deficiency causes an addiction.
Check out last week’s article on a newly discovered drug in first-stage trials that may someday replace opioids altogether.
Opioid Addiction Study Began in 2007
The study at MGH originated in 2007. That study centered on endorphins when the skin is saturated with UVB rays. The scientist at MGH found that people have almost the same type of behavior when seeking out opioids or tanning salons or long stretches of time in the sun.
The study had been attempted directly with mice. One of the researchers from MGH, Dr. Fisher, said that “When we corrected vitamin D levels in the deficient mice, their opioid responses reversed and returned to normal,”
The part of the article that caught my eye was:
The lab data suggesting that vitamin D deficiency increases addictive behavior was supported by several accompanying analyses of human health records. One showed that patients with modestly low vitamin D levels were 50 percent more likely than others with normal levels to use opioids, while patients who had severe vitamin D deficiency were 90 percent more likely. Another analysis found that patients diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD) were more likely than others to be deficient in vitamin D.
We have found out with the pandemic that vitamin D raises the immune response to viruses. Could the opioid addiction study also find that Vitamin D may lower opioid addiction behavior?
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