Monograph: |
FROM ALL K-VITAMINS, MENAQUINONE-7 (MK-7) HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED NOW AS THE MOST EFFECTIVE COFACTOR FOR THE CARBOXYLATION REACTION OF GLA-PROTEINS SUCH AS OSTEOCALCIN (IN BONE) AND MATRIX-GLA PROTEIN (IN THE ARTERIAL VESSEL WALL). THE QUESTION REMAINS WHETHER SUPPLEMENTATION WITH MK-7 ALSO LEADS TO MEASURABLE IMPROVEMENTS OF BONE AND VASCULAR HEALTH.
MK-7 IS A FORM OF VITAMIN K2 THAT HAS GREATER BIOAVAILABILITY THAN MK-4 AFTER ORAL ADMINISTRATION,4 BUT THE THERAPEUTIC UTILITY OF MK-7 IN RA HAD NOT BEEN INVESTIGATED PREVIOUSLY. THE PRESENT STUDY REVEALED THAT ADMINISTRATION OF MK-7 (100 碌G/D) TO RA PATIENTS FOR 3 MONTHS DECREASED LEVELS OF CRP, ESR, DAS28-ESR, AND MMP-3, SUGGESTING THAT THIS FORM OF VITAMIN K2 IS ALSO EFFECTIVE IN THE TREATMENT OF RA.
VITAMIN K2 OCCURS IN NATURE IN SEVERAL FORMS; EACH FORM IS DESIGNATED BY THE LENGTH OF THE SIDE CHAIN (THE NUMBER OF ISOPRENOID UNITS) OF THIS FAT-SOLUBLE MOLECULE. DIFFERENT FORMS OF VITAMIN K2 ARE FOUND IN VARYING AMOUNTS IN FOODS OF DISPARATE ORIGINS. MK-4, A RELATIVELY SHORT-CHAIN MENAQUINONE, IS FOUND IN FOODS OF ANIMAL ORIGIN, SUCH AS BUTTER AND EGG YOLKS. LONGER-CHAIN MENAQUINONES (MK-5 TO MK-10) ARE FOUND IN VARIABLE AMOUNTS IN FERMENTED FOODS, SUCH AS CHEESE.5 MK-7 IS THE PREDOMINANT FORM OF VITAMIN K2 IN THE JAPANESE FERMENTED SOY FOOD NATTO, AND IT IS OF COMMERCIAL AND CLINICAL INTEREST SINCE IT IS READILY AVAILABLE FOR SUPPLEMENTATION.
BASED ON THIS SMALL STUDY, IT APPEARS THAT MK-7 IN DOSES OF 100 碌G DAILY FOR 3 MONTHS CAN IMPROVE DISEASE ACTIVITY SCORE IN RA PATIENTS. THIS STUDY WAS LIMITED BY ITS SMALL SIZE AND POSSIBLE SELECTION BIAS, WHICH WAS ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE AUTHORS. HOWEVER, IT CONFIRMS THE ACTIONS PREVIOUSLY SEEN WITH MK-4 AND CONTRIBUTES TO THE BODY OF KNOWLEDGE OF VITAMIN K2 IN BOTH COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE FORMS AS A POTENTIALLY HELPFUL AGENT IN THE MANAGEMENT OF RA.
SIDE EFFECTS:
路 DECREASED APPETITE.
路 DECREASED MOVEMENT OR ACTIVITY.
路 DIFFICULTY IN BREATHING.
路 ENLARGED LIVER.
路 GENERAL BODY SWELLING.
路 MUSCLE STIFFNESS.
路 PALENESS.
路 YELLOW EYES OR SKIN.
DRUG INTERACTIONS:
ORLISTAT CAN CAUSE A DECREASE IN THE ABSORPTION OF MENAQUINONE 7 RESULTING IN A REDUCED SERUM CONCENTRATION AND POTENTIALLY A DECREASE IN EFFICACY.
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