Autoimmune disease and allergy are controlled by vitamin C treatment.
The present study was started to investigate the problem of whether or not vitamin C administration may help control autoimmune disease and allergy by stimulating the glucocorticoid mechanism of a patient with an immune disorder. Our study was expected to give an answer to the long-lasting enigma of endocrinology--why is the adrenal cortex so rich in the vitamin C content? Our investigation represents the complex of experimental and clinical study. A healthy male volunteer served as the test subject in the experimental study, and we investigated the effect of vitamin C injection or infusion treatments on the eosinophil count and 5 plasma steroids in plasma on the one hand, and also tested the effect of vitamin C treatments on diuresis and 17-hydroxycorticoids (17-OHCS) excretion on the other hand. In the clinical study, the effect of the vitamin C infusion treatment on immune disorders was assessed in 4 patients with autoimmune disease. Results obtained are as follows: 1) the vitamin C injection or infusion treatments induced an increase of plasma glucocorticoid activity with a delay of about 2 hours, as assessed in terms of the eosinophil count and plasma cortisol concentration. 2) Within 2 hours after vitamin C challenge, however, a remarkable decline of plasma cortisol was found to proceed without any corresponding change of the eosinophil count, a finding to suggest the presence of some cortisol absorber, of which the function was triggered by vitamin C. 3) The same vitamin C treatments also accelerated diuresis and 17-OHCS excretion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Kodama
M
M
Kodama Research Institute of Preventive Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Kodama
T
T
Murakami
M
M
Kodama
M
M
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D007958:Leukocyte Count / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D013256:Steroids / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine
D005938:Glucocorticoids; D013256:Steroids; D001205:Ascorbic Acid