Vitamin D and the epidemiology of prostate cancer.
Schwartz GG.
Semin Dial. 2005 Jul-Aug;18(4):276-89. Review.
PMID: 16076349
DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-139X.2005.18403.x
Half of the patients with an acute hip fracture suffer from hypovitaminosis D: a prospective study in southeastern Finland.
Nurmi I, Kaukonen JP, Lüthje P, Naboulsi H, Tanninen S, Kataja M, Kallio ML, Leppilampi M.
Osteoporos Int. 2005 Dec;16(12):2018-24. Epub 2005 Aug 24.
PMID: 16133642
Half of the patients with a hip fracture suffered from hypovitaminosis D. The situation was worst in institutional and residential care, although there are personnel for taking care of vitamin D supplementation. In the late summer, one-third and in late winter two-thirds of the patients suffered from hypovitaminosis D. The geographical location of Finland indicates extensive efforts to increase the use of vitamin D supplements among elderly.
Prevalence of Vitamin D inadequacy among postmenopausal North American women receiving osteoporosis therapy.
Holick MF, Siris ES, Binkley N, Beard MK, Khan A, Katzer JT, Petruschke RA, Chen E, de Papp AE.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Jun;90(6):3215-24. Epub 2005 Mar 29.
PMID: 15797954
doi:10.1210/jc.2004-2364
Conclusions: More than half of North American women receiving therapy to treat or prevent osteoporosis have vitamin D inadequacy, underscoring the need for improved physician and public education regarding optimization of vitamin D status in this population.
Vitamin d deficiency and seasonal variation in an adult South Florida population.
Levis S, Gomez A, Jimenez C, Veras L, Ma F, Lai S, Hollis B, Roos BA.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Mar;90(3):1557-62. Epub 2005 Jan 5.
PMID: 15634725
The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D is considerable even in southern latitudes and should be taken into account in the evaluation of postmenopausal and male osteoporosis.
Paradigms and Paradoxes
Last month Dr. Armin Zittermann of Ruhr University, Germany, published the best vitamin D paper of the month. He reviewed the mounting evidence that vitamin D deficiency is a major cause of heart disease. Zittermann A, Schleithoff SS, Koerfer R. Putting cardiovascular disease and vitamin D insufficiency into perspective. Br J Nutr. 2005 Oct;94(4):483-92.
Before we start, let's talk about paradigms and paradoxes. A paradigm is a set of assumptions, concepts, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality. The current paradigm is that heart disease is caused by a combination of genetics, hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, smoking, obesity, inactivity, and diet. A paradox is a fact that contradicts the paradigm.
Vitamin D-induced up-regulation of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in prostate cancer cells.
Golovko O, Nazarova N, Tuohimaa P.
Life Sci. 2005 Jun 17;77(5):562-77. Epub 2005 Feb 25.
PMID: 15904673
doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2004.10.072
Combined addition of human recombinant TNF-alpha with calcitriol or CB1093 cause enhanced effect in induction of apoptosis. We conclude that under physiological conditions vitamin D activates only the transcription of TNF-alpha gene, for TNF-alpha protein synthesis additional cofactors are required. Therefore a cooperation of vitamin D and TNF-alpha may play an important role in the control of cell growth in prostate cancer.
Fracture prevention with vitamin D supplementation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Willett WC, Wong JB, Giovannucci E, Dietrich T, Dawson-Hughes B.
JAMA. 2005 May 11;293(18):2257-64. Review.
PMID: 15886381
Conclusions Oral vitamin D supplementation between 700 to 800 IU/d appears to reduce the risk of hip and any nonvertebral fractures in ambulatory or institutionalized elderly persons. An oral vitamin D dose of 400 IU/d is not sufficient for fracture prevention.
The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D among US adults: data from the NHANES III.
Zadshir A, Tareen N, Pan D, Norris K, Martins D.
Ethn Dis. 2005 Autumn;15(4 Suppl 5):S5-97-101.
PMID: 16315387
CONCLUSION: Serum levels of 25(OH) D3 are below the recommended levels for a large portion of the general adult population and in most minorities. Need exists for a critical review and probable revision of current recommendations for adult vitamin D intake to maintain adequate 25(OH) D3 levels.
Immunosteroid as a regulator for Th1/Th2 balance: its possible role in autoimmune diseases.
Matsuzaki J, Tsuji T, Imazeki I, Ikeda H, Nishimura T.
Autoimmunity. 2005 Aug;38(5):369-75. Review.
PMID: 16227152
Human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP) gene is a direct target of the vitamin D receptor and is strongly up-regulated in myeloid cells by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3.\nGombart AF, Borregaard N, Koeffler HP.\nFASEB J. 2005 Jul;19(9):1067-77.\nPMID: 15985530
Grant WB, Holick MF.
Benefits and requirements of vitamin D for optimal health: a review.
Altern Med Rev. 2005 Jun;10(2):94-111. Review.
PMID: 15989379
Zittermann A, Schleithoff SS, Koerfer R. Putting cardiovascular disease and vitamin D insufficiency into perspective.Br J Nutr. 2005 Oct;94(4):483-92. Review.PMID: 16197570 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Daily duration of vitamin D synthesis in human skin with relation to latitude, total ozone, altitude, ground cover, aerosols and cloud thickness.
Engelsen O, Brustad M, Aksnes L, Lund E.
Photochem Photobiol. 2005 Nov-Dec;81(6):1287-90.
PMID: 16354110
Vitamin D production in human skin occurs only when incident UV radiation exceeds a certain threshold. From simulations of UV irradiances worldwide and throughout the year, we have studied the dependency of the extent and duration of cutaneous vitamin D production in terms of latitude, time, total ozone, clouds, aerosols, surface reflectivity and altitude. For clear atmospheric conditions, no cutaneous vitamin D production occurs at 51 degrees latitude and higher during some periods of the year. At 70 degrees latitude, vitamin D synthesis can be absent for 5 months. Clouds, aerosols and thick ozone events reduce the duration of vitamin D synthesis considerably, and can suppress vitamin D synthesis completely even at the equator. A web page allowing the computation of the duration of cutaneous vitamin D production worldwide throughout the year, for various atmospheric and surface conditions, is available on the Internet at http://zardoz.nilu.no/~olaeng/fastrt/VitD.html and http://zardoz.nilu.no/~olaeng/fastrt/VitD-ez.html. The computational methodology is outlined here.
Annual intramuscular injection of a megadose of cholecalciferol for treatment of vitamin D deficiency: efficacy and safety data. Diamond TH, Ho KW, Rohl PG, Meerkin M.
Med J Aust. 2005 Jul 4;183(1):10-2.
PMID: 15992330
Conclusions: Once-yearly intramuscular cholecalciferol injection (600 000 IU) is effective therapy for vitamin D deficiency. While this therapy appears to be safe, the potential for developing hypercalciuria needs to be examined in a large randomised controlled trial.
Dietary recommendations for vitamin D: a critical need for functional end points to establish an estimated average requirement.
Whiting SJ, Calvo MS.
J Nutr. 2005 Feb;135(2):304-9. Review.
PMID: 15671232
In summary, vitamin D has emerged as a critical nutrient for which there is a compelling health need to establish adequate dietary guidelines in North America and worldwide given the increasing evidence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficient links to risk of chronic disease. We strongly argue that now there are enough data to consider setting an estimated average requirement for vitamin D and to recognize the crucial need for more research to determine the role of vitamin D in noncalciotropic functions and prevention of chronic diseases
SSeason of diagnosis is a prognostic factor in Hodgkin's lymphoma: a possible role of sun-induced vitamin D.
Porojnicu AC, Robsahm TE, Ree AH, Moan J.
Br J Cancer. 2005 Sep 5;93(5):571-4.
PMID: 16136030
doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6602722
Epidemiological data for this period indicate that season of diagnosis is a strong prognostic factor for Hodgkin's lymphoma, with approximately 20% lower case fatality for patients diagnosed during autumn vs winter diagnosis (RR = 0.783, 95% CI,-0.62 to 0.99; P = 0.041). Notably, the improved autumnal survival rate was higher than 60% (RR = 0.364, 95% CI, -0.15 to 0.87; P = 0.025) for patients younger than 30 years. This finding may be related to higher endogenous levels of vitamin D in autumn, with a favourable influence on the conventional therapy.
In conclusion, we have found that the prognosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma is significantly correlated with the season of diagnosis, particularly for patients younger than 30 years. This seasonal effect is presumably due to the vitamin D3 synthesis in skin during sun exposure. The present findings should encourage further investigations of the possible adjuvant role of vitamin D derivatives in cancer therapy
Vitamin D is associated with improved survival in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients.
Zhou W, Suk R, Liu G, Park S, Neuberg DS, Wain JC, Lynch TJ, Giovannucci E, Christiani DC.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005 Oct;14(10):2303-9.
PMID: 16214909
In conclusion, the joint effects of surgery season and recent vitamin D intake seem to be associated with the survival of early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients.
In summary, for early-stage NSCLC patients, patients who had surgery in summer with "high" recent vitamin D intake have a statistically significantly improved RFS and OS than patients who had surgery in winter with "low" vitamin D intake. These results should be confirmed in a prospective study to assess the serum vitamin D levels at time of surgery. If the results are confirmed, our results, combined with findings in other studies, suggest that dietary vitamin D supplementation may be advisable for early stages of lung cancer patients, particularly during the winter season and in groups that tend to be deficient in vitamin D.