February 05 2018. An article appearing on January 19, 2018 in the International Journal of Nanomedicine shows how vitamin D3 can aid in the repair of cardiovascular system damage caused by atherosclerosis, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Dr Tadeusz Malinski along with graduate students Alamzeb Khan and Hazem Dawoud at Ohio University developed systems of measurements using nanosensors that have diameters which are approximately 1,000 times smaller than a human hair to examine the effects of vitamin D3 on single endothelial cells which line the arteries. They discovered that vitamin D3 significantly stimulates nitric oxide, which is a signaling molecule in the regulation of blood flow and clot formation. Vitamin D3 was also associated with lower cardiovascular system oxidative stress.
"Generally, vitamin D3 is associated with the bones,” observed Dr Malinski, of Ohio University’s Nanomedical Research Laboratories. “However, in recent years, in clinical settings people recognize that many patients who have a heart attack will have a deficiency of D3. It doesn't mean that the deficiency caused the heart attack, but it increased the risk of heart attack. We use nanosensors to see why vitamin D3 can be beneficial, especially for the function and restoration of the cardiovascular system."
"There are not many, if any, known systems which can be used to restore cardiovascular endothelial cells which are already damaged, and vitamin D3 can do it," he remarked. "This is a very inexpensive solution to repair the cardiovascular system. We don't have to develop a new drug. We already have it."
"Professor Malinksi has an international reputation for outstanding and innovative research related to the cardiovascular system," noted Ohio University Dean of Arts and Sciences Robert Frank. "This latest work is yet another example of his impact on this field."