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"Pohjoisen ihmisen iho muuttui valkoiseksi, jotta voisimme hyödyntää niukan auringon. Pohjoisella pallonpuoliskolla on kuitenkin sairauksia, jotka voivat johtua D-vitamiinin puutteesta Hermostovaikutuksia Myös kaikilla niin sanotuilla autoimmuunisairauksilla uskotaan olevan yhteys D-vitamiinin kanssa. Niissähän elimistön immunologia häiriintyy ja elimistö hyökkää omia kudoksiaan vastaan. Allergiat ja astma lienevät näistä tunnetuimpia ja yhä lisääntyviä. D-vitamiini lamaa tulehdusta aiheuttavia sytokiineja ja vahvistaa tulehdusta vastustavia sytokiineja. Reuma on yksi tällä hetkellä vilkkaasti tutkituista "pohjoisista" taudeista ja jotkut reumalääkärit ovat ehdottaneet D-vitamiinisuositusten roimaa korotusta. Nivelrikon kipuihinkin D-vitamiinin arvellaan auttavan. - Ei ole ihme, että keskushermosto on D-vitamiinin tärkeä kohde-elin. Keskushermosto on kehittynyt samasta alusta kuin iho, sanoo Pentti Tuohimaa. MS-taudissa on selvää näyttöä, että D-vitamiinin vajaus voi olla riski. Sairautta ei esiinny päiväntasaajalla, eikä sitä esiinny korkeilla Alpeilla, vaikka samassa väestössä laaksoissa sairautta löytyy. Australialaisen tutkimuksen mukaan MS-taudin esiintyvyys on kääntäen verrannollinen lapsuudessa etenkin talviaikaan saadun auringon määrään. Sen suurin esiintyvyys maailmassa on tällä hetkellä Pohjanmaalla. D-vitamiinihoidoilla on saatu kohtauksia vähenemään. Pahimmillaan tauti johtaa halvaantumiseen."

"D-vitamiini on noussut aivan uuteen valoon uusien tutkimusten myötä. Se on monipuolisesti vaikuttava hormoni, joka säätää tuhansien geenien toimintoja. D-vitamiini kohentaa yleiskuntoa, lihasvoimaa, kestävyyttä ja ketteryyttä sekä ehkäisee sikainfluenssaa, kausiflunssaa ja muita infektioita, allergioita (mm. atooppista ihottumaa), astmaa, Chrohnin tautia, diabetesta, MS-tautia, munuaistauteja, reumatauteja, sydän- ja verisuonitauteja sekä syöpää. Riittävä D-vitamiinin saanti ehkäisee ennenaikaista kuolemaa. Maailman Terveysjärjestön tutkimuksen mukaan D-vitamiinilisä voi pidentää tervettä elinaikaa jopa kahdeksalla vuodella. D-vitamiinin vajaus veressä ja kudoksissa johtuu ensisijaisesti auringonvalon puutteesta. Myös yksipuolinen ruokavalio (rasvaisen kalan vähyys) ja geenivirhe ovat puutteen syytekijöitä. Viranomaissuositus 3-60-vuotiaille ihmisille on 7,5 mikrogrammaa (µg) ja alle 3-vuotiaille ja yli 60-vuotiaille 10 µg D-vitamiinia päivässä. Tämäkään suositus ei toteudu, sillä suomalainen nainen saa D-vitamiinia keskimäärin 5 ja mies 7 µg/vrk. Ikääntyvien saanti on vieläkin vähäisempää ja piilevä puute yleistä. D-vitamiinin todellinen tarve on vähintään kymmenkertainen nykyiseen suositukseen nähden. Suosituksen nostoa on vaadittu jo pari vuotta, mutta Pekka Puskan johtama valtion ravitsemusheuvottelukunta on haluton nostamaan sitä ennen vuotta 2012. "

"We are fond of grumbling about Britain's grey skies, but there may be a good medical reason for doing so. It seems the dreary weather is bad for our hearts - worse, even, than raised cholesterol and an unhealthy diet. That's the controversial claim being made by Dr David Grimes, a gastroenterologist from Blackburn. He's been gazing at the sky for 20 years for clues about why his patients get more sick than those in the south of the country. And what he's found turns key assumptions about heart disease on their head. 'It's not diet or cholesterol levels that raise your risk of heart disease,' he claims. 'It's where you live. People in the north are more likely to be ill because they get less sunshine Basically they are suffering from 'latitude' sickness. The link is vitamin D. While we get some from our diet, the main source is the sun - sunlight converts a compound in the skin into vitamin D, so the amount you make is directly related to the amount of sunshine you get. In a new book Dr Grimes argues the higher the level of vitamin D in your blood, the lower your risk of heart disease and a range of other illnesses. If he's right, what we need is not diet and lifestyle advice, but food fortified with vitamin D. For years the vitamin was thought to be useful only for preventing rickets. So how does he treat them? 'You can do it with diet,' he says 'One Bangladeshi woman eats oily fish every day and now has a vitamin D blood level of 40. 'We give supplements of 1,000 international units (IU) a day or we can give an injection of 300,000 IU that lasts for a year. 'The patients respond well,' says Grimes 'but what's needed is a proper controlled, long-term trial and who is going to fund that? Not a drug company.'"

Maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy and childhood bone mass at age 9 years: a longitudinal study. Javaid MK, Crozier SR, Harvey NC, Gale CR, Dennison EM, Boucher BJ, Arden NK, Godfrey KM, Cooper C; Princess Anne Hospital Study Group. Lancet. 2006 Jan 7;367(9504):36-43. Erratum in: Lancet. 2006 May 6;367(9521):1486. PMID: 16399151 doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)67922-1 Interpretation Maternal vitamin D insufficiency is common during pregnancy and is associated with reduced bone-mineral accrual in the offspring during childhood; this association is mediated partly through the concentration of umbilical venous calcium. Vitamin D supplementation of pregnant women, especially during winter months, could lead to longlasting reductions in the risk of osteoporotic fracture in their offspring.

A New Zealand study has found that South Asian women with insulin resistance improved markedly after taking vitamin D supplements Nutrition researcher Pamela von Hurst of the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health at Albany, said while diet and exercise played a major part in the onset of type-2 diabetes, her findings reinforced the importance of vitamin D from the sun and supplements to prevent type-2 diabetes. Initial screening of 235 Auckland women from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka aged 20 and older, revealed 47 per cent were insulin deficient and 84 per cent were vitamin D deficient. The 81 recruited for the study were split into two groups for a randomised controlled trial and given a vitamin D supplement or placebo. As well as an improvement in insulin resistance among those who took vitamin D for six months, Ms Von Hurst said post-menopausal women in the study also showed a reduced rate of bone breakdown.

Table of Contents Ch. I Is calcidiol an active hormone? 1 Ch. II Vitamin D as a neurosteroid hormone : from neurobiological effects to behavior 29 Ch. III Inhibitors of vitamin D hydroxylases : mechanistic tools and therapeutic aspects 67 Ch. IV Vitamin D analogues as anti-cancer therapies 145 Ch. V Paricalcitol : a vitamin D2 analog with anticancer effects with low calcemic activity 169 Ch. VI Vitamin D use among older adults in U.S. : results form national surveys 1997 to 2002 181 Ch VII Vitamin D deficiency in migrants 199 Vitamin D is a fat-soluble steroid hormone precursor that contributes to the maintenance of normal levels of calcium and phosphorus in the bloodstream. Strictly speaking, it is not a vitamin since human skin can manufacture it, but it is referred to as one for historical reasons. It is often known as calciferol. The major biologic function of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium, helping to form and maintain strong bones. It promotes bone mineralisation in concert with a number of other vitamins, minerals and hormones. Without vitamin D, bones can become thin, brittle, soft or misshapen. Vitamin D prevents rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults -- skeletal diseases that result in defects that weaken bones. This book gathers international research on the leading-edge of the scientific front.

Benefit-risk assessment of vitamin D supplementation. Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Shao A, Dawson-Hughes B, Hathcock J, Giovannucci E, Willett WC. Osteoporos Int. 2009 Dec 3. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19957164 Conclusion Our analysis suggests that mean serum 25(OH)D levels of about 75 to 110 nmol/l provide optimal benefits for all investigated endpoints without increasing health risks. These levels can be best obtained with oral doses in the range of 1,800 to 4,000 IU vitamin D per day; further work is needed, including subject and environment factors, to better define the doses that will achieve optimal blood levels in the large majority of the population.

Vitamin D and calcium insufficiency-related chronic diseases: molecular and cellular pathophysiology. Peterlik M, Cross HS. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2009 Dec;63(12):1377-86. Epub 2009 Sep 2. PMID: 19724293 doi:10.1038/ejcn.2009.105 A compromised vitamin D status, characterized by low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-(OH)D) serum levels, and a nutritional calcium deficit are widely encountered in European and North American countries, independent of age or gender. Both conditions are linked to the pathogenesis of many degenerative, malignant, inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Studies on tissue-specific expression and activity of vitamin D metabolizing enzymes, 25-(OH)D-1alpha-hydroxylase and 25-(OH)D-24-hydroxylase, and of the extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CaR) have led to the understanding of how, in non-renal tissues and cellular systems, locally produced 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-(OH)2D3) and extracellular Ca2+ act jointly as key regulators of cellular proliferation, differentiation and function. Impairment of cooperative signalling from the 1,25-(OH)2D3-activated vitamin D receptor (VDR) and from the CaR in vitamin D and calcium insufficiency causes cellular dysfunction in many organs and biological systems, and, therefore, increases the risk of diseases, particularly of osteoporosis, colorectal and breast cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus type I, metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Understanding the underlying molecular and cellular processes provides a rationale for advocating adequate intake of vitamin D and calcium in all populations, thereby preventing many chronic diseases worldwide.

Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms influence susceptibility to type 1 diabetes mellitus in the Taiwanese population. Chang TJ, Lei HH, Yeh JI, Chiu KC, Lee KC, Chen MC, Tai TY, Chuang LM. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2000 May;52(5):575-80. PMID: 10792336 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2265.2000.00985.x CONCLUSIONS Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms were associated with type 1 diabetes in a Taiwanese population. However, functional studies are needed to establish the role of the vitamin D receptor in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Association between depressive symptoms and 25-hydroxyvitamin D in middle-aged and elderly Chinese. Pan A, Lu L, Franco OH, Yu Z, Li H, Lin X. J Affect Disord. 2009 Nov;118(1-3):240-3. Epub 2009 Feb 27. PMID: 19249103 doi:10.1016/j.jad.2009.02.002 Conclusions Depressive symptoms are not associated with 25(OH)D concentrations in middle-aged and elderly Chinese. Further prospective studies are required to determine whether they are correlated.

Effects of vitamin D supplementation on symptoms of depression in overweight and obese subjects: randomized double blind trial. Jorde R, Sneve M, Figenschau Y, Svartberg J, Waterloo K. J Intern Med. 2008 Dec;264(6):599-609. Epub 2008 Sep 10. PMID: 18793245 Conclusions. It appears to be a relation between serum levels of 25(OH)D and symptoms of depression. Supplementation with high doses of vitamin D seems to ameliorate these symptoms indicating a possible causal relationship.

Correlation of symptoms with vitamin D deficiency and symptom response to cholecalciferol treatment: a randomized controlled trial. Arvold DS, Odean MJ, Dornfeld MP, Regal RR, Arvold JG, Karwoski GC, Mast DJ, Sanford PB, Sjoberg RJ. Endocr Pract. 2009 May-Jun;15(3):203-12. PMID: 19364687 Conclusions: Compared with participants in the placebo group, patients in the treatment group showed mild short-term improvement in the overall fibromyalgia impact score, but did not show significant improvement in most musculoskeletal symptoms or in activities of daily living.

Duration of vitamin D synthesis from weather model data for use in prospective epidemiological studies. Edvardsen K, Engelsen O, Brustad M. Int J Biometeorol. 2009 Sep;53(5):451-9. Epub 2009 May 15. PMID: 19444487

The solar UV radiation level needed for cutaneous production of vitamin D3 in the face. A study conducted among subjects living at a high latitude (68 degrees N). Edvardsen K, Brustad M, Engelsen O, Aksnes L. Photochem Photobiol Sci. 2007 Jan;6(1):57-62. Epub 2006 Nov 10. PMID: 17200737

Low vitamin D serum level is related to severe fibrosis and low responsiveness to IFN-based therapy in genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C Salvatore Petta et al. Hepatology, Volume 9999 Issue 999A, Page NA. Published Online: 4 Dec 2009 DOI: 10.1002/hep.23489 Conclusions: G1 CHC patients had low 25(OH)D serum levels, possibly due to reduced CYP27A1 expression. Low vitamin D is linked to severe fibrosis and low SVR on IFN-based therapy. (HEPATOLOGY 2010.)

"November 24, 2009 | Lisa Nainggolan Orlando, FL - Inadequate levels of vitamin D are associated with an increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease and death, a new observational study has found. Dr Tami L Bair (Intermountain Medical Center, Murray, UT) reported the findings here at the American Heart Association 2009 Scientific Sessions. Bair and colleagues followed more than 27 000 people 50 years or older with no history of cardiovascular disease for just over a year and found that those with very low levels of vitamin D (30 ng/mL). Those deficient in vitamin D were also twice as likely to develop heart failure as those with normal levels. "We concluded that even a moderate deficiency of vitamin D was associated with developing coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, and death," said coauthor Dr Heidi May (Intermountain Medical Center). However, "it is not known whether this is a cause and effect relationship," she told heartwire. Because this study was observational, more research is needed "to better establish the association between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease," she noted."

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms and haplotypes, interactions with plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, and prostate cancer risk. Mikhak B, Hunter DJ, Spiegelman D, Platz EA, Hollis BW, Giovannucci E. Prostate. 2007 Jun 15;67(9):911-23. PMID: 17440943 DOI: 10.1002/pros.20570 RESULTS No association was found between these SNPs or their associated haplotypes and all PC subtypes except that haplotype 2 (A-f-b) with Cdx2 A, Fok1 f, and Bsm1 b alleles and haplotype 3 (A-F-B) with Cdx2 A, Fok1 F and Bsm1 B alleles compared to the most common haplotype (A-F-b), were associated with reduced risk of aggressive PC (high stage or Gleason sum 7; P = 0.02), both with two alleles suspected of being low risk. Carriers of the variant Cdx2 A allele who were deficient in plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (15 ng/ml) compared to non-carriers with normal 25-hydroxyvitamin D, had a lower risk of total and poorly differentiated PCs (Gleason sum 7) (P for interaction = 0.02 and 0.04, respectively). Plasma 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D deficiency (26 pg/ml) was associated with a threefold risk of poorly differentiated PC (P for interaction = 0.01) when comparing carriers of the Cdx2 A allele to non-carriers with normal 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. CONCLUSION In this population of men, none of the VDR polymorphisms studied was associated with susceptibility to PC. Carriers of the variant Cdx2 A allele with low plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D may experience a reduction in risk of total and poorly differentiated prostate cancers compared to non-carriers with adequate 25-hydroxyvitamin D.

Calcium and vitamin D intakes may be positively associated with brain lesions in depressed and nondepressed elders. Payne ME, Anderson JJ, Steffens DC. Nutr Res. 2008 May;28(5):285-92. PMID: 19083421 doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2008.02.013 In conclusion, calcium and vitamin D consumption were associated with brain lesions in elderly subjects even after controlling for potentially explanatory variables. These associations may be due to vascular calcification or other mechanism. The possibility of adverse effects of high intakes of calcium and vitamin D needs to be further explored in longitudinal studies of elderly subjects.

"The following is a list of the Top 10 health breakthroughs of 2008. I know there are many other possible candidates for this Top 10 list. This is my version of the highlights that made 2008 special."

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