Vitamin D

Objective  To determine the effects of menopause on bone-related variables in Indonesian women and to compare them with corresponding data in Caucasian Australian women.Design  A study of bone-related variables in women aged 45–55 years in Jakarta compared with corresponding historical data from Caucasian Australian women.Measurements  Dietary intakes, bone mineral density (BMD) and calcium-related variables in blood and urine.Results  Dietary calcium, phosphorus and protein intakes were significantly lower in the women from Jakarta than in those from Adelaide (all P < 0·001), probably because of lower milk consumption, but energy intake was similar in the two cities. Indonesian women were shorter and lighter than Australian women (P < 0·001) but had a comparable body mass index (BMI). The Indonesians also had a lower spinal BMD than the Australians but this was accounted for by the differences in height and weight between the two populations. The differences in serum and urinary calcium and phosphate and serum alkaline phosphatase across the menopause were comparable in Indonesian and Australian women but creatinine excretion was 25% lower in Jakarta than in Adelaide (P < 0·001) and this was probably sufficient to account for higher ratios of some urinary solutes to urinary creatinine in the Indonesians. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels were significantly lower (P < 0·001) and serum PTH levels significantly higher (P = 0·0045) in Jakarta than in Adelaide.Conclusions  The differences in bone-related biochemical variables across the menopause were similar in the two populations, but calcium and protein intake and urine creatinine were lower in Indonesian than in Australian women. Serum 25OHD was lower and PTH higher in the Indonesian women, probably because of their darker skin, their practice of avoiding direct sunlight and the heavy atmospheric pollution in Jakarta.

The recent discovery--from a meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials--that supplemental cholecalciferol (vitamin D) significantly reduces all-cause mortality emphasizes the medical, ethical, and legal implications of promptly diagnosing and adequately treating vitamin D deficiency. Not only are such deficiencies common, and probably the rule, vitamin D deficiency is implicated in most of the diseases of civilization. Vitamin D&#39;s final metabolic product is a potent, pleiotropic, repair and maintenance, seco-steroid hormone that targets more than 200 human genes in a wide variety of tissues, meaning it has as many mechanisms of action as genes it targets. One of the most important genes vitamin D up-regulates is for cathelicidin, a naturally occurring broad-spectrum antibiotic. Natural vitamin D levels, those found in humans living in a sun-rich environment, are between 40-70 ng per ml, levels obtained by few modern humans. Assessing serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) i...

Information on sCD200 (OX-2), 25-Hydroxyvitamin-D(25(OH)D), homocysteine (hcy), eosinophil cationic peptid (ECP), d-dimer (DD), CXCL8, fractional exhale nitric oxide concentrations (FeNO) status all together among patients with allergy in mediterranean region in comparison of climatic conditions have not been well established yet. Blood samples were taken on May and June during the highest air pollination. Hence, this study was undertaken to compare these serum biomolecules’ levels in allergic patients and matched controls, to evaluate disease characteristics. The study participants (n=129) included 25 healthy individuals (controls) and 104 allergic patients. Consecutive patients with allergic disease (Group II,III,IV,V) above the age of 18 years, managed. In the control group there was a significant positive correlation between ECP and BMI. Positive correlations between ECP, IgE and OX-2 were detected in group IV. For group V patients, positive correlations between age and IgE and ...

Purpose. – Corticosteroid induced osteoporosis (CIO) is the most frequent complication of long-term corticosteroid therapy, and the most frequent cause of secondary osteoporosis. New data from biological, epidemiological and therapeutic studies provide basis for optimal management of this bone disease.Main points. – Corticosteroids are responsible for both quantitative and qualitative deleterious effects on bone, through their effect on bone cells, mainly on osteoblasts (with both a decrease in osteoblast activity and an increase in apoptosis). Epidemiological studies have shown an increased risk of fractures related to CIO, even for low doses, and during the first 6 months of treatment. Relative risk is 1.3 and 2.6 for peripheral and vertebral fractures respectively. Bone mineral density, measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, is decreased at spine and hip; the risk of fracture is higher in CIO as compared to post-menopausal osteoporosis, for a similar bone density. Preventi...

Summary  Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased fracture risk. The observational study aimed to investigate vitamin D status and supplementation in ambulatory patients. Only 20% of patients had optimal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels. Commonly recommended dosages were insufficient to achieve clinically relevant increase of 25(OH)D levels. Higher dosages were safe and effective under clinical practice conditions. Introduction  Vitamin D deficiency

To report the vitamin D status in adults from seven European countries and to identify behavioural correlates. In total, 1075 eligible adult men and women from Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Greece, UK, Poland and Germany, were included in the study. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency, defined as 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 (25-OHD3) concentration of &lt;30 and 30-49.9 nmol/L, respectively, were observed in 3.3 and 30.6% of the participants. The highest prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was found in the UK and the lowest in the Netherlands (8.2 vs. 1.1%, P &lt; 0.05). In addition, the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency was higher in females compared with males (36.6 vs. 22.6%, P &lt; 0.001), in winter compared with summer months (39.3 vs. 25.0%, P &lt; 0.05) and in younger compared with older participants (36.0 vs. 24.4%, P &lt; 0.05). Positive dose-response associations were also observed between 25-OHD3 concentrations and dietary vitamin D intake from foods and supplements, as wel...

Nutritional rickets remains a public health concern in many areas of the world despite cheap and effective means of preventing the disease. The roles of vitamin D deficiency, low dietary calcium intakes and the interrelationships between the two in the pathogenesis of the disease are discussed. It is now recognized that vitamin D deficiency in the pregnant and lactating mother predisposes to the development of rickets in the breastfed infant, and that cultural and social factors are important in the pathogenesis of the disease during the adolescent growth spurt. Prevention of rickets is dependent on the awareness of the medical profession and the general public of the need to ensure adequate intakes of vitamin D in at-risk populations, and of the importance of increasing dietary intakes of calcium using locally available and inexpensive foods in communities in which dietary calcium deficiency rickets is prevalent.

Australia has one of the highest rates of incidence and mortality due to skin cancer in the world. Exposure to the sun also has a beneficial side. The beneficial effects are relatively low, but they are essential to a person&#39;s well being. It is well known that exposure to small amounts of UV are beneficial for the human body and important in the production of vitamin D3. This investigation will give students the opportunity to measure erythemal UV radiation in full sun and in the shade to determine how this can be potentially beneficial. An important outcome of this investigation will be to illustrate that some exposure to sunlight is necessary for ling-term human health.

Vitamin D, i.e. 1,25(OH) 2D, is an essential factor, not only of homeostasis of calcium and phosphorus, but also of cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis, immune and hormonal regulation, as well as other body processes. Thus, its optimal presence in the body is of exceptional significance for health, both of children, as well as adults and elderly persons. Today, it is known that the lack of vitamin D, besides having negative effects on the skeleton and teeth, also contributes to the development of various malignancies, primarily of the large bowel, prostate and breasts, as well as of autoimmune and allergic diseases, diabetes mellitus type II, arterial hypertension and others. Considered from the biological aspect, physiological requirements in vitamin D are achieved by cutaneous synthesis from 7-dehydrocholesterol during sun exposure, while, except rarely, it is very scarce in food. Having in mind extensive evidence that sun exposure presents a high risk for the develo...

This is a case report of an 40 years female patient with Scheuermann Kyphosis with a rigid thoracic hyperkyphosis of 90º and compensatory lumbar hyperlordosis of 92º, treated with a single posterior approach, Ponte osteotomy and instrumented posterolateral fusion. There is some discussion about the best surgical approach. Combined approach was classically considered the gold-standard, but recent studies revealed that posterior-only approach allows comparable corrections with less complications rate. Posterior-only approach good results are related with advances in posterior instrumentation combined with posterior column shortening techniques, such Ponte osteotomies. Preoperative planning is essential. Spine instrumentation should extend from proximal end vertebra to sagittal stable vertebra.

... d-α-Tocopheryl Polyethylene Glycol-1000 Succinate Enhances the Absorption of Vitamin D in Chronic Cholestatic Liver Disease of Infancy and Childhood. Eric A Argao 1 , James E Heubi 1 , Bruce W Hollis 2 and Reginald C Tsang 3. ... Top of page Abstract. ...

Nutrition plays a role in the etiology of osteoporosis. Two of the most important nutrients for bone health are calcium and vitamin D. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25-(OH) D] is the most sensitive clinical index of vitamin D status and has been found to be positively related to ...