Scientists now report that a high dose of vitamin D administered on admission to hospital has failed to improve the condition of patients with moderate or severe Covid-19.
A clinical trial was conducted in Brazil with 240 patients who were given 200,000 IU of vitamin D3 on admission to the hospital.
The supplementation did not reduce the length of stay or affect the proportion requiring intensive, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
In vitro studies or trials with animals had previously shown that in certain situations vitamin D and its metabolites can have anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effects, as well as modulating the immune response.
"We decided to investigate whether a high dose of the substance could have a protective effect in the context of an acute viral infection, reducing either the inflammation or the viral load."
Rosa Pereira, principal investigator for the project at the University of Sao Paulo's Medical School
"The ideal approach is case-by-case analysis, if necessary, dosing the substance periodically by means of blood work, with supplementation if a deficiency is detected," Pereira said.
(This story was published from a syndicated feed. Only the headline and picture has been edited by FIT)