Extraskeletal Functions of Vitamin D

Extraskeletal Functions of Vitamin D

1Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Viale Gazzi, 98123 Messina, Italy 2Institute of Molecular BioMedicine, Medical Faculty, Comenius University, Sasinkova 4, 811 08 Bratislava, Slovakia 3Department of Internal Medicine, Service of Nephrology, University Hospital (CHUV), Avenue du Bugnon 17, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland 4Nephrology, Med School, Second Universi...

Extraskeletal effects of vitamin D | Rossini | Reviews in Health Care

Minireview: Vitamin D: is there a role in extraskeletal health?

In recent years, vitamin D has received increased attention due to the resurgence of vitamin D deficiency and rickets in developed countries together with the identification of extraskeletal vitamin D receptor-mediated actions, suggesting unexpected benefits of vitamin D in health and diseases. Although there is increased awareness of the importance of vitamin D, the role of vitamin D in extras...

Calcium and vitamin D: skeletal and extraskeletal health.

Vitamin D is known for its role in calcium homeostasis for optimal skeletal health. It was previously believed that only elderly or hospitalized patients were at risk for vitamin D insufficiency, but many people in the general US population have insufficient levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25D). According to the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 61% of white and 91% of blac...

Endocrine functions of vitamin D

The name “vitamin D” for the fat-soluble secosteroid cholecalciferol implies that humans need to take up this molecule via their diet since their own catabolism may not be able to produce it. In contrast, at UV-B (290e315 nm) exposure human skin is able to synthesize vitamin D on the basis of the cholesterol precursor 7dehydrocholesterol. Thus, insufficient exposure to sunlight in populations l...