A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation has found that vitamin D may be an effective therapeutic agent to treat or prevent allergy to a common mold that can complicate asthma and frequently affect patients with Cystic Fibrosis.

The environmental mold, Aspergillus fumigatus, is one of the most prevalent fungal organisms inhaled by people. Researchers note that in the vast majority, it is not associated with disease. However, in asthmatics and in patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), it can cause significant allergic symptoms, including a severe allergic response called Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis (ABPA).

Researchers studied the cells that produce an allergic response in two groups of patients with CF and found that heightened allergic reactivity was linked to a lower average blood level of vitamin D.

"We found that adding vitamin D not only substantially reduced the production of the protein driving an allergic response, but it also increased production of the proteins that promote tolerance," said lead researcher Jay Kolls, M.D.

Previous research has suggested that low levels of vitamin D may contribute to heart disease, a higher risk of diabetes, certain cancers, and depression as well as asthma, colds and other respiratory disorders.

Vitamin D is available in nutritional supplement form as well as from food sources like milk, fortified breakfast cereals and fatty fish.