Untangling the Most Probable Role for Vitamin D₃ in Autism

Authors

Dianne E. Godar, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Stephen J. Merrill, Marquette UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Publication Date

2017

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Source Publication

Dermato-Endocrinology

Source ISSN

1938-1972

Abstract

Recent studies indicate an important role for vitamin D₃ in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), although its mechanism is not completely understood. The most puzzling aspect of ASD is that identical twins, who share identical DNA, do not have 100% concordance rates (∼88% for identical and ∼31% for fraternal twins). These findings provide major clues into the etiology: ASD must involve an environmental factor present in the prenatal milieu that both identical twins are not always exposed to because they do not always share it (i.e., placentas). Combined with the exponential increasing rates of ASD around the world, these observations suggest a contagious disease is probably transferred to the fetus via the placenta becoming infected by a cervical virus. Vitamin D₃ boosts immune responses clearing viral infections and increases serotonin and estrogen brain levels. Here we review the different roles and untangle the most probable one vitamin D₃ plays in ASD.

Comments

Published version. Dermato-Endocrinology, Vol. 9 (2017). DOI. © 2017 SAGE Publications. Used with permission.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Godar, Dianne E. and Merrill, Stephen J., "Untangling the Most Probable Role for Vitamin D₃ in Autism" (2017). Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications. 530.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/mscs_fac/530