Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin with a well-known general metabolism and actions in bone structure and immune system regulation. Vitamin D exhibits direct antimicrobial activities against a spectrum of microbes, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, enveloped and non-enveloped viruses, as well as fungi. An observational study showed that concentrations of 38 ng/ml or more were ...

Little is known regarding optimal vitamin D status in adult dogs. To date no studies on vitamin D supplementation for improving vitamin D status have been reported for adult dogs. The aims of this study were to identify dogs with low vitamin D status and evaluate an oral dosage of cholecalciferol (D3) for effectiveness in increasing vitamin D status. For this, forty-six privately owned dogs wer...

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive decline of cognitive performance, which has a harmful impact on social activities. AD is the main cause of dementia and loss of functional independence in the elderly. AD is a worldwide concern because of its adverse consequences and expanding prevalence and incidence. Vitamin D is the mos...

Prostate cells contain specific receptors for 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1α,25(OH)(2)D] or calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D. 1α,25(OH)(2)D is known to inhibit the proliferation and invasiveness of prostate cancer cells. These findings support the use of 1α,25(OH)(2)D for prostate cancer therapy. However, 1α,25(OH)(2)D can cause hypercalcemia, analogs of 1α,25(OH)(2)D that are less calcem...

Advances in Vitamin D nutritional physiology since publication of the DRIs in 1997 are briefly summarized. Available data indicate that (1) Vitamin D's canonical function, optimizing intestinal calcium absorption, is fully expressed at serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentration of approximately 80nmol/L; (2) elevated parathyroid activity, typical of aging populations, is minimized at the s...

Initial clinical trials in cancer patients with vitamin D compounds have shown acceptable toxicity but low activity. A number of mechanisms responsible for resistance to their action in cancer cells have been recently reported. They include reduced intracellular availability of 1 ,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3), loss of vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression and deregulation of transcription...

vitamin d deficiency has been proposed as an associating factor with increased blood pressure. we studied the relationship between serum vitamin d and blood pressure in a large representative sample of iranian population. in this cross-sectional study, based on the data of 2508 adults (aged between 20 and 70 years) from the iran multicenter osteoporosis study (imos), the association between ser...

OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy and safety of commonly prescribed regimens for the treatment of vitamin D insufficiency. METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of 306 consecutive patients who were prescribed ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) for correction of vitamin D insufficiency at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center between February 2003 and May 2006. Serum levels of parathy...

Burden of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is substantial and increasing in the world. There are controversial reports regarding vitamin D supplementation in COPD. We investigated relationship between vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) supplementation with Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) and symptom recovery in AECOPD patients with concurrent Vitamin D Deficiency (VDD). A placebo-c...