Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

Effects of Atorvastatin on vitamin D levels in patients with acute ischemic heart disease. Pérez-Castrillón JL, Vega G, Abad L, Sanz A, Chaves J, Hernandez G, Dueñas A. Am J Cardiol. 2007 Apr 1;99(7):903-5. Epub 2007 Feb 8. PMID: 17398180 in conclusion, atorvastatin increases vitamin D levels. This increase could explain some of the beneficial effects of atorvastatin at the cardiovascular level that are unrelated to cholesterol levels. The mechanism by which atorvastatin increases vitamin D levels is related to inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3 methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase. Cholesterol is synthesized from 7-dehydrocholesterol, which is also a precursor of vitamin D3. For this reason, we initially observed a statistically significant relation between total cholesterol and vitamin D. HMG-CoA enzyme reductase is key to the synthesis of cholesterol, whereas ultraviolet radiation causes the formation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. inhibition of the enzyme may increase levels of 7-dehydrocholesterol and increase the synthesis of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, thereby increasing vitamin D levels,10 although we observed no relation between lower cholesterol and increased vitamin D. in addition, 25-hydroxyvitamin D has been shown to inhibit HMG-CoA enzyme reductase activity in in vitro studies.11 A greater concentration of vitamin D could increase enzymatic inhibition, acting in synergy with the statin in decreasing total cholesterol.

Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in Brazilian adolescents. Peters BS, dos Santos LC, Fisberg M, Wood RJ, Martini LA. Ann Nutr Metab. 2009;54(1):15-21. Epub 2009 Feb 5. PMID: 19194104 DOI: 10.1159/000199454 CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that even in a sunny climate like Brazil the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in adolescents is high. Most likely this is due to low intakes of vitamin D in this group. Due to the limited extent of natural dietary sources of vitamin D, a policy of vitamin D food fortification should be considered in the future, and in the meantime greater use of vitamin D supplements in this population group should be encouraged to provide the increased amounts of this essential nutrient for optimal health.

Depression may be triggered by low vitamin D levels in the blood, according to a new study published in the Aug 19, 2009 issue of European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study led by Nanri A and colleagues from international Medical center of Japan in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan found that in November, people with their serum levels of vitamin D falling in the highest quartile were 49 percent less likely to feel depressed. The study involved 527 municipal employees aged 21 to 67 who worked in two municipal offices in Japan. It was meant to examine the association between vitamin D deficiency and depression

25(OH)D Serum levels decline with age earlier in women than in men and less efficiently prevent compensatory hyperparathyroidism in older adults. Maggio D, Cherubini A, Lauretani F, Russo RC, Bartali B, Pierandrei M, Ruggiero C, Macchiarulo MC, Giorgino R, Minisola S, Ferrucci L. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2005 Nov;60(11):1414-9. PMID: 16339327 Conclusions. These findings suggest that the age-associated fall of serum 25(OH)D starts earlier in women than in men and that higher levels of 25(OH)D are required in older compared to younger persons to avoid the age-associated compensatory hyperparathyroidism.

March 27, 2009 - A significant decrease in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels has led to an increase in vitamin D insufficiency in the US population, especially in racial and ethnic groups, according to results of a population-based study reported in the March 23 issue of the Archives of internal Medicine. "Vitamin D insufficiency has been associated with increases in cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infection," write Adit A. Ginde, MD, from the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, and colleagues. "Vitamin D supplementation appears to mitigate the incidence and adverse outcomes of these diseases and may reduce all-cause mortality." [...] "These findings have important implications for health disparities and public health," the study authors conclude. "Our data provide additional evidence that current recommendations for vitamin D supplementation (200-600 IU/d) are inadequate to achieve optimal serum 25(OH)D levels in most of the US population." They add that large, randomized controlled trials of higher doses of vitamin D supplementation are needed to evaluate their effect on general health and mortality.

Concentrations of vitamin D3 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in raw and cooked New Zealand beef and lamb. Roger Purchas, Maggie Zoua, Philip Pearcea and Felicity Jackson- Journal of Food Composition and Analysis Volume 20, Issue 2, March 2007, Pages 90-98 For lamb, the highest levels of vitamin D3 were in the shoulder chop both before and after cooking, while levels were lowest in the rack muscle. Similar cut differences were shown for 25OHD3 concentrations. For beef there were no significant differences between the cuts for vitamin D3, but concentrations of 25OHD3 were lower in the striploin before and after cooking, Vitamin D3 levels tended to be higher in beef cuts than in lamb cuts, but the opposite held for 25OHD3. Concentrations of vitamin D3 were similar to those in other reports, but the 25OHD3 levels were at the high end of reported ranges. With 25OHD3 being more potent than vitamin D3, it is concluded that meat can make a useful contribution of this vitamin to the human diet.

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.

Estimation and fortification of vitamin D3 in pasteurized process cheese. Upreti P, Mistry VV, Warthesen JJ. J Dairy Sci. 2002 Dec;85(12):3173-81. PMID: 12512590 The objective of this study was to develop methods for the estimation and fortification of vitamin D3 in pasteurized Process cheese. Vitamin D3 was estimated using alkaline saponification at 70°C for 30 min, followed by extraction with petroleum ether:diethyl ether (90:10 vol/vol) and HPLC. The retention time for vitamin D3 was approximately 9 min. A standard curve with a correlation coefficient of 0.972 was prepared for quantification of vitamin D3 in unknown samples. in the second phase of the study, pasteurized Process cheeses fortified with commercial water- or fat-dispersible forms of vitamin D3 at a level of 100 IU per serving (28 g) were manufactured. There was no loss of vitamin D3 during Process cheese manufacture, and the vitamin was uniformly distributed. No losses of the vitamin occurred during storage of the fortified cheeses over a 9-mo period at 21 to 29°C and 4 to 6°C. There was an approximately 25 to 30% loss of the vitamin when cheeses were heated for 5 min in an oven maintained at 232°C. Added vitamin D3 did not impart any off flavors to the Process cheeses as determined by sensory analysis. There were no differences between the water- and fat-dispersible forms of the vitamin in the parameters measured in fortified cheeses

Current impediments to acceptance of the ultraviolet-B-vitamin D-cancer hypothesis. Grant WB, Boucher BJ. Anticancer Res. 2009 Sep;29(9):3597-604. PMID: 19667154 The ultraviolet-B (UVB)-vitamin D-cancer hypothesis was proposed in 1980. There have been numerous ecological, observational and other studies of the hypothesis. There are about 14 types of cancer for which it seems to apply: bladder, breast, colon, endometrial, esophageal, gallbladder, gastric, ovarian, pancreatic, rectal, renal and vulvar cancer and both Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Nonetheless, the hypothesis has not yet been accepted by public health agencies. Some of the reasons for this include a distrust of ecological studies, some mistrust of observational studies, and the existence of just one positive randomized controlled trial, an analysis of a vitamin D and calcium supplementation study involving post-menopausal women in Nebraska. Paradigm shifts such as this generally take time, in part due to opposition from those content with the status quo. in this paper, results of ecological studies in the United States using summertime solar UVB as the index of vitamin D production, which is highly asymmetrical with respect to latitude, and indices for other cancer risk-modifying factors (air pollution, alcohol consumption, dietary iron and zinc, ethnic background, socioeconomic status, smoking and urban/rural residence) are discussed in terms of supporting the hypothesis. These studies were not considered while other ecological studies were examined in recent critiques of the hypothesis. While additional randomized controlled trials would, of course, be helpful, the current evidence seems to satisfy the criteria for causality as outlined by A. Bradford Hill.

"From 1955 to 1990, all infants in East Germany received 600,000 IU of Vitamin D every three months for a total of 3,600,000 IU at age 18 months. With the 400 IU/day recommendation of the American Pediatric Association in mind, I ran across this amazing paper while surfing Medline for Vitamin D. According to this paper, all infants in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) received dangerously high doses of Vitamin D every three months in their doctors office. The policy was in place for 35 years. The first 600,000 IU dose was given at three months and then every three months until the child was 18 months of age. This works out to an average of 6,000 IU per day (actually, for several technical reasons it is not equivalent) for 18 months. The authors collected blood before the dose and then 2 weeks after the quarterly dose to obtain 25(OH)D, 1,25(OH)D, and calcium levels on a total of 43 infants. Before the first dose, at 3 months of age, the average infant was extremely deficient (median 25(OH)D of 7 ng/ml). Two weeks after the first dose the average 25(OH)D level was 120 ng/ml, the second dose 170 ng/ml, the third dose, 180 ng/ml, the fourth dose, 144 ng/ml, the fifth dose, 110 ng/ml and after the sixth and final dose, 3.6 million total units, at age 18 months, the children had mean levels of 100 ng/ml. That is, by the 15 and 18 month doses, the children were beginning to effectively handle these massive doses. The highest level recorded in any of the 43 infants was 408 ng/ml at age 9 months, two weeks after the third 600,000 IU dose. Thirty-four percent of the infants had at least one episode of hypercalcemia but only 3 had an elevated serum 1,25(OH)D. The authors reported that all the infants appeared healthy, even the infant with a level of 408 ng/ml, that is, no clinical toxicity was noted in any of these infants."

"So why is Dr Vieth so frustrated? You might think he'd have cause for celebration. But for him and other vitamin D researchers around the world, the good news comes with a bitter aftertaste. They believe they can prove vitamin D could help millions live longer and be healthier and yet they have not been able to convince their own governments. in the US and Canada, official vitamin D policy is set by the institute of Medicine. And in the opinion of Vieth, the current recommendations - 200 international Units per day for people under 50, 400 for people aged 51-70, and 600 for those 71 and older - are outrageously low. Bruce Hollis, professor of paediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina, calls 400 IU a day "a joke". That's because the best research suggests that to achieve the higher vitamin D blood levels associated with disease prevention, most adults in the US would need to take 1,000-2,000 IU a day: five to 10 times more than the current official recommendation for adult in 1999, Reinhold Vieth (pictured right) published a review of vitamin D research in response to the IOM conclusions. in it, he argued that there was no evidence that amounts lower than 20,000 IU a day could be toxic. "Throughout my preparation of this review, I was amazed at the lack of evidence supporting statements about the toxicity of moderate doses of vitamin D," Vieth wrote. Studies have since shown 10,000 IU a day of vitamin D to be safe. While any substance will become toxic in excess, vitamin D researchers today accept that the current vitamin D recommendations could be more than quadrupled with no fear of toxicity.!

"I discussed in my last post how Dr Vieth has a model of tissue 1,25(OH)2D synthesis and degradation in which the level of active substance is pretty well independent of blood vitamin D level, provided the level is either rising or stable. I think it is also worth pointing out that he is talking, hypothetically, about tissue 1,25(OH)2D, not plasma level... As we know, almost nothing is known about tissue 1,25(OH)2D control. By Vieth's hypothesis tissue 1,25(OH)2D is OK so long as there is at least SOME vitamin D present in plasma and the level dose not vary too much. Obviously there is a level below which you can have as much of the enzyme for converting vitamin D to the active form as you like, if there is no vitamin D in your blood you can't make any 1,25(OH)2D in your tissues, or in your kidneys for export to your blood to control calcium levels. At the lower extremes we have rickets and osteomalacia. These are clear cut, unarguable markers of vitamin D deficiency, in the absence of confounding factors (there are a few)."

"Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone. in a national study in 1010 men, to be presented Nov. 15 at the American Heart Association's (AHA) annual Scientific Sessions in Orlando, researchers say the new findings build on previous studies showing that deficiencies in vitamin D and low levels of estrogen, found naturally in differing amounts in men and women, were independent risk factors for hardened and narrowed arteries and weakened bones. Vitamin D is an essential part to keeping the body healthy, and can be obtained from fortified foods, such as milk and cereals, and by exposure to sunlight.

"For more than 80 years, scientists have known that vitamin D is important for building bones. And for most of those 80 years, people thought this was the only thing it was good for. in the past decade, however, we've learned two important things about vitamin D: it appears to have many other important health effects, and many Americans don't get enough of it. in 2008, new research pointed to a vitamin D deficiency as a possible contributing factor in heart disease. And the suspected link between vitamin D deficiency and cancer grew even stronger. This surely will spur much new research in 2009. Why is vitamin D deficiency so common? The vitamin is made in our skin when sunlight strikes it. Many Americans-especially those who live in the northern part of the country, are elderly or have dark skin-don't soak up enough sun. And the vitamin isn't found in many foods. The main sources are fatty fish (such as salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines) and milk, cereal and juices that have been fortified with it. Vitamin D deficiency often is unsuspected because it causes no direct symptoms; like high blood pressure, it does its damage silently."

"For what reason I don't know, but this January 2009 editorial by William Faloon of the Life Extension Foundation is making the rounds. Perhaps it just came available on the web. It's a good read, particularly in light of the billions and trillions of dollars the thieves & thugs in DC are about to flush down the crapper on your behalf. Some notable excerpts. A large number of new vitamin D studies have appeared in the scientific literature since I wrote my plea to the federal government. These studies don't just confirm what we knew 16 months ago-they show that optimizing vitamin D intake will save even more lives than what we projected. For instance, a study published in June 2008 showed that men with low vitamin D levels suffer 2.42 times more heart attacks. Now look what this means in actual body counts. Each year, about 157,000 Americans die from coronary artery disease-related heart attacks. Based on this most recent study, if every American optimized their vitamin D status, the number of deaths prevented from this kind of heart attack would be 92,500. To put the number of lives saved in context, tens of millions of dollars are being spent to advertise that Lipitor® reduces heart attacks by 37%. This is certainly a decent number, but not when compared with how many lives could be saved by vitamin D. According to the latest study, men with the higher vitamin D levels had a 142% reduction in heart attacks."

Vitamin D A Key Player in Overall Health Of Several Body Organs, Says Biochemist in a paper published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Norman identifies vitamin D's potential for contributions to good health in the adaptive and innate immune systems, the secretion and regulation of insulin by the pancreas, the heart and blood pressure regulation, muscle strength and brain activity. in addition, access to adequate amounts of vitamin D is believed to be beneficial towards reducing the risk of cancer. Norman also lists 36 organ tissues in the body whose cells respond biologically to vitamin D. The list includes bone marrow, breast, colon, intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach and the uterus.

A seasonal variation of calcitropic hormones, bone turnover and bone mineral density in early and mid-puberty girls - a cross-sectional study. Viljakainen HT, Palssa A, Kärkkäinen M, Jakobsen J, Cashman KD, Mølgaard C, Lamberg-Allardt C. Br J Nutr. 2006 Jul;96(1):124-30. PMID: 16870000 Seasonal variation in S-25-OHD and bone remodelling markers accompanied by negative correlation between S-25-OHD and S-iPTH was seen in this cross-sectional study of adolescent girls. in addition, the seasonal rhythm contributed 7.0-7.6 % difference in the BMD of lumbar vertebrae and left femur in early puberty girls. This variation should be avoided since it could hamper peak bone mass attainment.

Vitamin D vs broad spectrum phototherapy in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder. Gloth FM 3rd, Alam W, Hollis B. J Nutr Health Aging. 1999;3(1):5-7. PMID: 10888476 All subjects receiving vitamin D improved in all outcome measures. The phototherapy group showed no significant change in depression scale measures. Vitamin D status improved in both groups (74% vitamin D group, p < 0.005 and 36% phototherapy group, p < 0.01). Improvement in 25-OH D was significantly associated with improvement in depression scale scores (r2=0.26; p=0.05). Vitamin D may be an important treatment for SAD. Further studies will be necessary to confirm these findings..

A prospective nested case-control study of vitamin D status and pancreatic cancer risk in male smokers. Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Vieth R, Azad A, Pietinen P, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Albanes D. Cancer Res. 2006 Oct 15;66(20):10213-9. PMID: 17047087 Higher vitamin D concentrations were associated with a 3-fold increased risk for pancreatic cancer (highest versus lowest quintile, >65.5 versus <32.0 nmol/L: OR, 2.92; 95% CI, 1.56-5.48, Ptrend = 0.001) that remained after excluding cases diagnosed early during follow-up. Contrary to expectations, subjects with higher prediagnostic vitamin D status had an increased pancreatic cancer risk compared with those with lower status. Our findings need to be replicated in other populations and caution is warranted in their interpretation and implication. Our results are intriguing and may provide clues that further the understanding of the etiology of this highly fatal cancer. in conclusion, contrary to expectation, subjects with higher 25(OH)D concentrations were at greater risk for pancreatic cancer compared with those with lower concentrations in our prospective study with long-term follow-up. Caution is warranted in the interpretation and implication of our findings, however, as vitamin D inadequacy is an important public health problem and adequate status is desirable to prevent bone and other diseases (5). Our results, however, are intriguing and may provide clues that further the understanding of the etiology of this highly fatal cancer.

High-dose vitamin D3 supplementation in a cohort of breastfeeding mothers and their infants: a 6-month follow-up pilot study. Wagner CL, Hulsey TC, Fanning D, Ebeling M, Hollis BW. Breastfeed Med. 2006 Summer;1(2):59-70. PMID: 17661565 doi:10.1089/bfm.2006.1.59. Objective: To examine the effect of high-dose maternal vitamin D3 (vitD) supplementation on the nutritional vitD status of breastfeeding (BF) women and their infants compared with maternal and infant controls receiving 400 and 300 IU vitD/day, respectively. Design: Fully lactating women (n = 19) were enrolled at 1-month postpartum into a randomized- control pilot trial. Each mother received one of two treatments for a 6-month study period: 0 or 6000 IU vitD3 plus a prenatal vitamin containing 400 IU vitD3. The infants of mothers assigned to the control group received 300 IU vitD3/day; those infants of mothers in the high-dose group received 0 IU (placebo). Maternal serum and milk vitD and 25(OH)D were measured at baseline then monthly; infant serum vitD and 25(OH)D were measured at baseline, and months 4 and 7. Urinary calcium/creatinine ratios were measured monthly in both mothers and infants. Dietary and BF history and outdoor activity questionnaires were completed at each visit. Changes in skin pigmentation were measured by spectrophotometry. Data were analyzed using chi-square, t-test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) on an intent-to-treat basis. Conclusion: With limited sun exposure, an intake of 400 IU/day vitamin D3 did not sustain circulating maternal 25(OH)D levels, and thus, supplied only extremely limited amounts of vitamin D to the nursing infant via breast milk. infant levels achieved exclusively through maternal supplementation were equivalent to levels in infants who received oral vitamin D supplementation. Thus, a maternal intake of 6400 IU/day vitamin D elevated circulating 25(OH)D in both mother and nursing infant.