11/10/15 11/10/15

Vitamin D necessary for mucosal barrier function

""Vitamin D, an important modulator of the immune system, has been shown to protect mucosal barrier homeostasis..."

3/19/14 3/19/14

Breast cancer survival is enhanced by higher serum levels of vitamin D

Breast cancer survival is linked to higher serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] according to evidence presented in a meta-analysis just published in the journal Anti-Cancer Research...Higher serum 25(OH)D concentrations were associated with lower fatality rates in patients with breast cancer. Patients with the highest concentration of 25(OH)D had approximately half the fatality rate compared to those with the lowest concentration

12/20/13 12/20/13

Vitamin D when low increases risk of hospital-acquired infection after surgery

Vitamin D is crucial not only for the immune tolerance that opposes autoimmunity and allergy, but also for effective resistance to opportunistic infections. A study just published in JAMA Surgery (formerly Archives of Surgery) shows a link between pre-operative vitamin D levels and hospital-acquired infections.

10/20/13 10/20/13

Metabolic health status and aging determined by inflammation, not weight

Metabolic health is not reliably determined by weight or BMI (body mass index). Lean individuals can suffer from cardiovascular and other diseases involving metabolism, and evidence has been mounting that supports the notion of a subtype of obesity that is metabolically healthy. Inflammation can determine metabolic health in both obese and non-obese populations.

8/22/13 8/22/13

Autoimmune inflammation can elevate serum 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D

I have found that patients with an autoimmune component to their case often have elevated 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D (calcitriol). This is not the 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol metabolite) that we always test to determine vitamin D3 sufficiency. Often with normal and even low vitamin D3 levels, patients with various degrees of active autoimmunity are testing for elevated 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D levels. Now research published in PLOS One (Public Library of Science) shows how autoimmune inflammation and elevated 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D are associated.