Vitamin D Deficiency News and Research

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High dose of vitamin D3 safe and effective for obese adolescents

Vitamin D deficiency is common in Americans, and especially in overweight and obese adolescents, according to the National Institutes of Health. University of Missouri researchers have found that providing obese adolescents with a high daily dose of vitamin D3 is safe and effective in improving their vitamin D status.

2 Nov 2011

VitaYeast project to curb global malnutrition

Any way you slice it, bread that contains critical nutrients could help combat severe malnutrition in impoverished regions. That is the goal of a group of Johns Hopkins University undergraduate students who are using synthetic biology to enhance common yeast so that it yields beta carotene, the orange substance that gives carrots their color. When it's eaten, beta-carotene turns into vitamin A.

27 Oct 2011

$IOF report predicts major increase in osteoporosis fractures in the Middle East and Africa$

IOF report predicts major increase in osteoporosis fractures in the Middle East and Africa

A new audit report issued today by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) shows that osteoporosis is a serious and growing problem throughout the Middle East and parts of Africa.

22 Oct 2011

Two Philadelphia scientists to receive John Scott Award

Two internationally recognized scientists with strong Philadelphia ties are to receive the John Scott Award this year.

21 Oct 2011

Three-step strategy for healthy bones and strong muscles

For this year's World Osteoporosis Day, the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is releasing a 24-page report promoting a three-step strategy for healthy bones and strong muscles.

14 Oct 2011

Vitamin D deficiency might be common in fair skinned people: Study

The British study suggests that pale people tend to be deficient in the “sunshine” vitamin and that without supplements they're unlikely to get their levels up without getting sunburned. That can put them at risk for bone loss, heart disease, and poorer survival from breast cancer, according to the study's authors.

5 Oct 2011

People with good vitamin D supply at lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes

Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have shown that people with a good vitamin D supply are at lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus. The study, which was conducted in cooperation with the German Diabetes Center and the University of Ulm, will be published in the October edition of the renowned scientific journal Diabetes Care.

4 Oct 2011

More than three-quarters of cancer patients have vitamin D deficiency

More than three-quarters of cancer patients have insufficient levels of vitamin D (25-hydroxy-vitamin D) and the lowest levels are associated with more advanced cancer, according to a study presented on October 2, 2011, at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

4 Oct 2011

Oral steroid users twice as likely to have severe vitamin D deficiency

People taking oral steroids are twice as likely as the general population to have severe vitamin D deficiency, according to a study of more than 31,000 children and adults by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

30 Sep 2011

Low vitamin B12 raises risk of dementia in the elderly: Study

According to a latest study the elderly with low levels of vitamin B12 in their blood may be more likely to develop problems with their thinking skills and have more brain shrinkage. The study points to a link between low B12 and early cognitive decline, a condition that often leads to dementia. Previous research has found that those people with high levels of vitamin B12 in their blood have lower levels of an amino acid called homocysteine, which some studies have linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease, memory loss, and stroke.

27 Sep 2011

Vitamin B12 deficiency linked to cognitive problems or loss in brain volume among older people

Older people with low levels of vitamin B12 in their blood may be more likely to lose brain cells and develop problems with their thinking skills, according to a study published in the September 27, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

27 Sep 2011

Low levels of vitamin D associated with poorer lung function in children with STRA

Children with severe therapy-resistant asthma (STRA) may have poorer lung function and worse symptoms compared to children with moderate asthma, due to lower levels of vitamin D in their blood, according to researchers in London.

23 Sep 2011

African-American men living in low sunlight areas more likely to have Vitamin D deficiency

African-American men living in areas with low sunlight are up to 3 - times more likely to have Vitamin D deficiency than Caucasian men and should take high levels of Vitamin D supplements, according to a new study from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

21 Sep 2011

Scientists discover 29 new genetic variants linked with MS

Multiple sclerosis is primarily an immunological disease. Scientists at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) have in succeeded, in collaboration with 23 research teams from 15 different countries, in discovering a total of 29 new genetic variants that are involved in the genesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory disease of the nervous system.

7 Sep 2011

Sunscreen pills from coral

Researchers have found that coral does not suffer from sunburn despite living in shallow water in tropical areas, because it is able to produce its own “natural sunscreen”. By studying the compounds which protect it from UV rays, researchers hope to develop a tablet which can protect human skin and eyes without the need for dark glasses or sun cream. Scientists from King's College London said the first sunscreen pill could be available within five years.

31 Aug 2011

Vitamin A supplements in children could save up to 600,000 lives a year: Study

Researchers have found that giving vitamin A supplements to children under the age of five in developing countries could save up to 600,000 lives a year. Writing in the British Medical Journal, UK and Pakistani experts assessed 43 studies involving 200,000 children, and found deaths were cut by 24% if children were given the vitamin. They add that it would also cut rates of measles and diarrhea.

30 Aug 2011

Study confirms that vitamin D deficiency increases aggressiveness of colon cancer

A study conducted by VHIO researchers confirms that a lack of vitamin D increases the aggressiveness of colon cancer.

16 Aug 2011

Scientists identify 29 new genetic variants linked to multiple sclerosis

Scientists have identified 29 new genetic variants linked to multiple sclerosis, providing key insights into the biology of a very debilitating neurological disease. Many of the genes -implicated in the study are relevant to the immune system, shedding light onto the immunological pathways that underlie the development of multiple sclerosis.

11 Aug 2011

Conference to discuss novel studies that address how inherited genes cause breast cancer

A woman's ethnicity as well as her genetic makeup are two of the main risk factors for hereditary breast cancer. Research into understanding and treating hereditary breast cancer will be presented today at the Era of Hope conference, a scientific meeting hosted by the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.

4 Aug 2011

Experts available to discuss various effects of sun exposure

After many long winter months, Canadians are eager to get outside and enjoy the short and sweet season of warm summer sunshine. Although soaking up the sun can help us forget our winter blues, too much or unprotected exposure can have harmful consequences to your health.

15 Jul 2011