![\"Neuropathy](\"https:\/\/blueheronhealthnews.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Vitamin-D.jpg\")
Neuropathy is often blamed on diabetes, chemotherapy drugs, and a few other factors.<\/p>\nNeuropathy is often blamed on diabetes, chemotherapy drugs, and a few other factors.<\/p>\n
Which doesn\u2019t quite make sense because most people exposed to those factors don\u2019t end up developing neuropathy. Which means there must be another factor involved.<\/p>\n
A new study in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network<\/em> reveals this hidden, added factor as lacking one specific vitamin.<\/p>\n Their study, spearheaded by scientists at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy, delved into data from 1,191 women participating in the SWOG S0221 trial. This trial was a comprehensive evaluation of various paclitaxel-based chemotherapy regimens for early-stage breast cancer. paclitaxel is known to cause neuropathy, so this was a handy population to research.<\/p>\n The team focused on identifying the relationship between vitamin D levels prior to chemotherapy and the risk of developing severe peripheral neuropathy once it started.<\/p>\n They measured vitamin D levels in blood samples taken before treatment. They defined vitamin D insufficiency as having levels of 20 nanograms per milliliter or less. They then monitored the development of grade 3 or higher sensory chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy\u2014a severe form of the condition\u2014among the participants.<\/p>\n The results were telling:<\/em><\/p>\n 2. This means that the vitamin D deficient group had a 57% greater risk of developing neuropathy.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n When the scientists adjusted their results to make sure that factors like age, body mass index, and chemotherapy schedule weren’t unduly influencing the findings, those with low vitamin D levels were 65% more likely to develop peripheral neuropathy.<\/p>\n The study went beyond human data, exploring the direct effects of vitamin D on neuropathy using a mouse model. Mice fed a vitamin D-deficient diet showed increased sensitivity to pain and a heightened response to paclitaxel, supporting the human study findings.<\/p>\n While they did not study vitamin D supplementation explicitly, they assumed there would be a good chance that sufficient intake, such as supplements, would protect against neuropathy in this high-risk group.<\/p>\n\n