Background: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a rare autoimmune blistering disease of the skin and mucous membranes. Because vitamin D deficiency is associated with many immune disorders, we compared the levels of vitamin D between PV patients and healthy controls. Methods: Vitamin D level of 20 patients with PV was compared with 20 healthy individuals matched for age, gender, hours spent in the sun, ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate, in a posthoc analysis of a previous study, whether vitamin D repletion in postmenopausal women with insufficient vitamin D increases urinary calcium excretion, as vitamin D therapy might contribute to hypercalciuria and calcium stones in susceptible individuals, and the effect of vitamin D on the risk of urolithiasis warrants attention. SUBJECTS AND METHODS We recruited...

The histological and biochemical response of osteomalacia has been studied in four patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, who were treated with oral 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, 50 microgram daily, or intramuscular vitamin D2, 150,000 units once weekly, for five to 12 months. All patients showed complete histological healing of osteomalacia, despite rapidly deteriorating liver function in three. Pla...

Maternal vitamin D deficiency is one of the major risk factors for neonatal vitamin D deficiency followed by neonatal hypocalcaemia. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between delayed neonatal hypocalcaemia and maternal vitamin D deficiency. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Target population of this study included all term and preterm neonates with delayed hypoca...

Objective. To describe an asymptomatic presentation of severe hypocalcemia secondary to vitamin D deficiency in an elderly patient. Methods. We describe the presentation and clinical course of an elderly woman with asymptomatic severe hypocalcemia referred to an endocrinology clinic for hyperparathyroidism. Results. The patient is an 83-year-old Caucasian woman who presented to an endocrinology...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of vitamin D in autism through serum level assessment. DESIGN This was a case-controlled cross-sectional study. SETTING The study was conducted at the Out-patient Clinic for "Children with Special Needs" at the Medical Services Unit of the National Research Centre in Cairo, Egypt. SUBJECTS Seventy (70) children with aut...

BACKGROUND Pregnant women form one of the high risk groups facing hypovitaminosis D. Low level of vitamin D will affect directly or indirectly both mother and fetus. Screening vitamin D in the first trimester of pregnancy is important to determine the necessary preventive action. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D and its risk factors among pregnant...

Epidemiological studies suggest that vitamin D insufficiency may be prevalent in young as well as older populations. The pleiotropic effects of vitamin D are now beyond dispute and a growing number of studies provide accumulating evidence of a role for vitamin D in brain development and function. A number of studies to date have investigated the effects of early-life vitamin D deprivation on ad...