Endocrine Abstracts

Research into the role of vitamin D in human health has significantly increased. Best known for its role in calcium and bone metabolism, it is now also acknowledged to play a role in non-calcaemic processes, including muscle and immune function. For many of these, randomised controlled trials are underway and mechanisms are only partly understood. The plasma concentration of 25-Hydroxy-vitamin D (25OHD) is considered the best marker of vitamin D status. The free fraction of 25...

Depending on definition and population, vitamin D deficiency (usually 25(OH)D ≤20 ng/ml) is present in 30–60% of ICU patients worldwide. Since 2009, observational studies have clearly shown that vitamin D deficiency is linked to excess morbidity and mortality in adults and children including increased organ failure. Preliminary data using metabolomics suggest that several biochemical pathways, which are important for redox regulation and immunomodulation, are affect...

Vitamin D has been shown not only to be important for bone and calcium metabolism but also for homeostasis of critical tissues involved in vascular disease. The vitamin D receptor (VDR) and the 1a-hydroxylase enzyme are present in critical cells implicated in the development of vascular disease. Vitamin D influences multiple mechanisms to decrease vascular inflammation: it suppresses the renin-angiotensin system, promotes endothelial nitric oxide release, decreases vascular in...