scholarly journals Human skin pigmentation, migration and disease susceptibility

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1590) ◽  
pp. 785-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina G. Jablonski ◽  
George Chaplin
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin D ◽  
Human Skin ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Skin Pigmentation ◽  
Disease States ◽  
Disease Risks ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽  
Serious Disease ◽  
The Tropics

Human skin pigmentation evolved as a compromise between the conflicting physiological demands of protection against the deleterious effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and photosynthesis of UVB-dependent vitamin D 3 . Living under high UVR near the equator, ancestral Homo sapiens had skin rich in protective eumelanin. Dispersals outside of the tropics were associated with positive selection for depigmentation to maximize cutaneous biosynthesis of pre-vitamin D 3 under low and highly seasonal UVB conditions. In recent centuries, migrations and high-speed transportation have brought many people into UVR regimes different from those experienced by their ancestors and, accordingly, exposed them to new disease risks. These have been increased by urbanization and changes in diet and lifestyle. Three examples—nutritional rickets, multiple sclerosis (MS) and cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM)—are chosen to illustrate the serious health effects of mismatches between skin pigmentation and UVR. The aetiology of MS in particular provides insight into complex and contingent interactions of genetic and environmental factors necessary to trigger lethal disease states. Low UVB levels and vitamin D deficiencies produced by changes in location and lifestyle pose some of the most serious disease risks of the twenty-first century.

Biophysical evidence to support and extend the vitamin D‐folate hypothesis as a paradigm for the evolution of human skin pigmentation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Lucock ◽  
Patrice R. Jones ◽  
Martin Veysey ◽  
Rohith Thota ◽  
Manohar Garg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin D ◽  
Human Skin ◽  
Skin Pigmentation

scholarly journals Supplementation and therapeutic use of vitamin D in patients with multiple sclerosis: Consensus of the Scientific Department of Neuroimmunology of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology

2014 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doralina Guimarães Brum ◽  
Elizabeth Regina Comini-Frota ◽  
Claúdia Cristina F. Vasconcelos ◽  
Elza Dias-Tosta
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Vitamin D ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Hypovitaminosis D ◽  
Central Nervous System Disease ◽  
Keywords Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
System Disease ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory, autoimmune, demyelinating, and degenerative central nervous system disease. Even though the etiology of MS has not yet been fully elucidated, there is evidence that genetic and environmental factors interact to cause the disease. Among the main environmental factors studied, those more likely associated with MS include certain viruses, smoking, and hypovitaminosis D. This review aimed to determine whether there is evidence to recommend the use of vitamin D as monotherapy or as adjunct therapy in patients with MS. We searched PUBMED, EMBASE, COCHRANNE, and LILACS databases for studies published until September 9 th , 2013, using the keywords “multiple sclerosis”, “vitamin D”, and “clinical trial”. There is no scientific evidence up to the production of this consensus for the use of vitamin D as monotherapy for MS in clinical practice.

scholarly journals Reply: “Comment on: The Vitamin D–Folate Hypothesis as an Evolutionary Model for Skin Pigmentation: An Update and Integration of Current Ideas, Nutrients 2018, 10, 554”

Nutrients ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1759
Author(s):  
Patrice Jones ◽  
Mark Lucock ◽  
Martin Veysey ◽  
Emma Beckett
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin D ◽  
Skin Pigmentation ◽  
Evolutionary Model

We thank Elias and Williams for their interest in our review [...]

scholarly journals Vitamin D status in the tropics: Is sunlight exposure the main determinant?

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 428-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Mendes ◽  
K. H. Hart ◽  
P. B. Botelho ◽  
S. A. Lanham-New
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin D ◽  
Sunlight Exposure ◽  
Vitamin D Status ◽  
Main Determinant ◽  
The Tropics

scholarly journals Photoprotection and Skin Pigmentation: Melanin-Related Molecules and Some Other New Agents Obtained from Natural Sources

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 1537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Solano
Keyword(s):  
Human Skin ◽  
Uv Light ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Skin Pigmentation ◽  
Antioxidant Properties ◽  
Sun Exposure ◽  
Marine Organisms ◽  
Electromagnetic Spectrum ◽  
Chemical Structures ◽  
Skin Lightening

Direct sun exposure is one of the most aggressive factors for human skin. Sun radiation contains a range of the electromagnetic spectrum including UV light. In addition to the stratospheric ozone layer filtering the most harmful UVC, human skin contains a photoprotective pigment called melanin to protect from UVB, UVA, and blue visible light. This pigment is a redox UV-absorbing agent and functions as a shield to prevent direct UV action on the DNA of epidermal cells. In addition, melanin indirectly scavenges reactive oxygenated species (ROS) formed during the UV-inducing oxidative stress on the skin. The amounts of melanin in the skin depend on the phototype. In most phenotypes, endogenous melanin is not enough for full protection, especially in the summertime. Thus, photoprotective molecules should be added to commercial sunscreens. These molecules should show UV-absorbing capacity to complement the intrinsic photoprotection of the cutaneous natural pigment. This review deals with (a) the use of exogenous melanin or melanin-related compounds to mimic endogenous melanin and (b) the use of a number of natural compounds from plants and marine organisms that can act as UV filters and ROS scavengers. These agents have antioxidant properties, but this feature usually is associated to skin-lightening action. In contrast, good photoprotectors would be able to enhance natural cutaneous pigmentation. This review examines flavonoids, one of the main groups of these agents, as well as new promising compounds with other chemical structures recently obtained from marine organisms.

scholarly journals Vitamin D deficiency exacerbates UV/endorphin and opioid addiction

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (24) ◽  
pp. eabe4577
Author(s):  
Lajos V. Kemény ◽  
Kathleen C. Robinson ◽  
Andrea L. Hermann ◽  
Deena M. Walker ◽  
Susan Regan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin D ◽  
Opioid Use Disorder ◽  
Opioid Addiction ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Endogenous Opioid ◽  
Evolutionary Advantage ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽  
Dose Dependent ◽  
Genetic Mouse Models

The current opioid epidemic warrants a better understanding of genetic and environmental factors that contribute to opioid addiction. Here we report an increased prevalence of vitamin D (VitD) deficiency in patients diagnosed with opioid use disorder and an inverse and dose-dependent association of VitD levels with self-reported opioid use. We used multiple pharmacologic approaches and genetic mouse models and found that deficiencies in VitD signaling amplify exogenous opioid responses that are normalized upon restoration of VitD signaling. Similarly, physiologic endogenous opioid analgesia and reward responses triggered by ultraviolet (UV) radiation are repressed by VitD signaling, suggesting that a feedback loop exists whereby VitD deficiency produces increased UV/endorphin-seeking behavior until VitD levels are restored by cutaneous VitD synthesis. This feedback may carry the evolutionary advantage of maximizing VitD synthesis. However, unlike UV exposure, exogenous opioid use is not followed by VitD synthesis (and its opioid suppressive effects), contributing to maladaptive addictive behavior.

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