Correlation of increases in 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D during vitamin D therapy with activation of CD4+ T lymphocytes in HIV-1-infected males.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, published as a randomized controlled trial.

In HIV-1-infected individuals, levels of CD4+ T lymphocytes are depleted and regulatory T-lymphocytes (Tregs) are elevated.

The researchers speculated whether supplementation with vitamin D could have an effect on CD4+ T lymphocytes or Tregs in HIV-1-infected males.

Who Took Part

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were adults and middle-aged adults, men only.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Neither the participants nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc group a baseline to be compared against.

Percentages of the following T-lymphocyte subsets were determined: naïve CD4+ and CD8+ cells, activated CD4+ and CD8+ cells, and CD3+CD4+CD25+CD127low Tregs.

Furthermore 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and parathyroid hormone were measured.

What Was Measured

In HIV-1-infected individuals, levels of CD4+ T lymphocytes are depleted and regulatory T-lymphocytes (Tregs) are elevated.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active, CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes, HIV-1, Linear Models, Lymphocyte Activation and Parathyroid Hormone.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

Results are reported in around 6 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2012 (HIV clinical trials), a journal based in England.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.