Vitamin D News and Research

Latest Vitamin D News and Research

European Congress of Nephrology unveils results of various clinical trials

The 47th ERA-EDTA/DGfN congress in Munich has been the setting for a wide range of new clinical data. The results of the following clinical trials were presented at "Late-Breaking Clinical Trials Sessions."

30 Jun 2010

Psychiatry and Pediatrics seeks volunteer families to participate in vitamin D study

Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Pediatrics (OHSU, Portland, Oregon) is seeking roughly 50-100 volunteer families to participate in a vitamin D study. The goal of the study is to find out whether giving Vitamin D to the pregnant mother, who already has had at least one previous child with autism, can prevent the recurrence of autism in the newborn sibling.

29 Jun 2010

ADVANCE study provides new insights into the management of SHPT in CKD patients

Results from the ADVANCE study presented in a late breaking clinical trial session at the ERA-EDTA 2010 Congress provide new insights into the management of secondary hyperparathyroidism in chronic kidney disease patients. ADVANCE (A randomiseD VAscular calcificatioN study to evaluate the effects of CinacalcEt) is a randomised, controlled open label study to evaluate the effects of treatment with Mimpara (cinacalcet) plus low-dose vitamin D, compared to flexible doses of vitamin D alone, on the progression of vascular and valvular calcification in dialysis patients with SHPT.

28 Jun 2010

Merck challenges New York jury decision in federal FOSAMAX retrial

Merck & Co., Inc. today said it is challenging the decision returned by a New York jury in the retrial of a federal FOSAMAX case, Boles v. Merck. This case was the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee's top choice to take to trial and involved a Florida woman who blamed her dental and jaw problems on FOSAMAX. The first case to reach a verdict, Maley v. Merck, resulted in a defense verdict for Merck on May 5, 2010.

28 Jun 2010

ARS study finds link between vitamin D and cognitive function

At a time when consumer interest in health-enhancing foods is high, Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists have contributed to a limited but growing body of evidence of a link between vitamin D and cognitive function.

25 Jun 2010

Tanning protects skin from harmful sun rays

People who remain pale and never tan can blame their distant ancestors for choosing to live in the northern reaches of the globe and those who easily achieve a deep tan can thank their ancestors for living in the subtropical latitudes, according to Penn State anthropologists.

25 Jun 2010

Researchers endorse, modify vitamin D theory of autism

A Scientific American article asks, "What if Vitamin D Deficiency is a Cause of Autism?" How could vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy cause autism, a genetic disease? Indeed, five researchers at Harvard, led by Dr. Dennis Kinney, recently endorsed and then modified the vitamin D theory of autism.

24 Jun 2010

June issue of Clinic Women's HealthSource provides overview of anemia

Anemia is not a normal part of aging, yet it's fairly common in older adults and causes frailness, weakness and increased risk of falls. According to Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource, more than one in 10 older adults has anemia. Twenty percent of women are anemic by age 85.

24 Jun 2010

Folic acid and vitamin B12 lower homocysteine levels in patients who experience heart attack: JAMA

Patients who had experienced a heart attack and lowered their blood homocysteine levels with folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation did not have an associated lower risk of heart attack, coronary death or stroke, according to a study in the June 23/30 issue of JAMA. However, the researchers did find that folic acid supplementation did not increase the risk of cancer, which has been speculated.

23 Jun 2010

Survey: MegaRed Omega-3 Krill Oil recommended for overall cardiovascular health

With America focused on the future of healthcare, a recent survey provides Americans added confidence in the ability of supplements like MegaRed Omega-3 Krill Oil to support their overall cardiovascular health.

23 Jun 2010

International team obtains genome sequence of human body louse

An international team has obtained the genome sequence of the human body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus), a parasite that feeds on the blood of its host and a vector of pathogens that cause diseases such as epidemic typhus, relapsing fever and trench fever.

22 Jun 2010

New study that describes sequencing and analysis of body louse genome published

A global research team led by scientists from the J. Craig Venter Institute today published a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describing the sequencing and analysis of the body louse genome. Lead author, Ewen Kirkness, Ph.D., JCVI, directed the sequencing and gene-finding efforts in the project. Detailed analysis of the genome was then conducted by a large international group of 71 scientists, coordinated by Barry Pittendrigh, University of Illinois, and Professor Evgeny Zdobnov, University of Geneva Medical School.

22 Jun 2010

Protea Biosciences, Mayoly-Spindler commence Phase I/IIA human clinical trial for new recombinant Lipase

Protea Biosciences, Inc., a leading developer of new technology for pharmaceutical research, announced today that the company, in partnership with Mayoly-Spindler, a European pharmaceutical company, has commenced a Phase I/IIA human clinical trial for a new recombinant Lipase.

22 Jun 2010

Study shows vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in patients with Type 2 diabetes

Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in patients with Type 2 diabetes and may be associated with poor blood sugar control, according to a new study. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

22 Jun 2010

ARS research physiologist develops preliminary model that predicts individual's vitamin D requirements

Your skin tone and the amount of sunshine you receive--in addition to what foods you eat--all can influence the amount of vitamin D that your body has on hand for optimum health. In a preliminary and apparently first-of-its-kind study, Agricultural Research Service research physiologist Charles B. Stephensen and colleagues have developed a preliminary model that predicts an individual's vitamin D requirements.

19 Jun 2010

Investigators discover new way to harness thrombin's anti-blood clotting properties

In research led by a Saint Louis University investigator, molecular biologists have discovered a way to harness the enzyme thrombin's anti-blood clotting properties. The finding opens the door to new medications that will treat diseases related to thrombosis, the presence of blood clots in blood vessels, which is responsible for nearly a third of all deaths in the U.S.

19 Jun 2010

Recommended supplementation not sufficient to normalise vitamin D levels in RA patients: Study

Two separate studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency is common in patients with a range of rheumatic diseases, with over half of all patients having below the 'normal' healthy levels of vitamin D (48-145 nmol/L) in their bodies. A further study assessing response to vitamin D supplementation found that taking the recommended daily dose did not normalise vitamin D levels in rheumatic disease patients.

18 Jun 2010

FDA: Potential risk of overdosing infants with liquid vitamin D

Some liquid vitamin D supplement products come with droppers that could allow parents and caregivers to accidentally give harmful amounts of the vitamin to an infant. These droppers can hold a greater amount of liquid vitamin D than an infant should receive.

17 Jun 2010

Smokeless tobacco affects normal function of CYP-450 family of enzymes: Report

Far from having adverse effects limited to the mouth, smokeless tobacco affects the normal function of a key family of enzymes found in almost every organ in the body, according to the first report on the topic in ACS' monthly journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. The enzymes play important roles in production of hormones, including the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone; production of cholesterol and vitamin D; and help the body breakdown prescription drugs and potentially toxic substances.

17 Jun 2010

Newly published research examines association between CKD and CYP24

Cytochroma today announced the publication of new data from studies in a preclinical model indicating that chronic kidney disease is associated with markedly increased expression of the vitamin D catabolic enzyme, CYP24, which contributes to vitamin D insufficiency and resistance to vitamin D therapy. Parallel analysis of kidney biopsies obtained from CKD patients confirmed abnormal CYP24 expression in human disease as well.

16 Jun 2010