Health Benefits Of Vitamin D, Or Maybe Not

Vitamin D has been receiving a lot of attention lately. Also known as the "sunshine" vitamin or calciferol, vitamin D has been in the press more than usual lately for new-found benefits as well as non-benefits. Here's what they have been saying about the health benefits of vitamin D, or lack of:

Vitamin D 'improves eye sight of elderly'

(However,) when one-year-old mice were given vitamin D supplements - specifically, injected with safflower oil containing 0.9 micrograms of vitamin D every three days - deposits of a toxic molecule called amyloid beta were reduced.

Prof Jeffrey continued: "The mice showed an associated improvement of vision."

The researchers came up with the study idea after examining other findings showing vitamin D could reduce the build-up of amyloid plaques on the brain, which have been linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease .

Mice given the supplements also had less amyloid deposits in other blood vessels, including the aorta, which Prof Jeffrey said "suggests that vitamin D could be useful in helping to prevent a range of age-related health problems, from deteriorating vision to heart health".

There was "growing evidence that many of us in the Western world are deficient in vitamin D", he said. See original story

Experts recommend vitamin D supplementation for menopausal women

A group of experts has prepared a report on vitamin D supplementation for menopausal women after it was revealed that Europeans have suffered an alarming decrease in their levels of this vitamin. In their opinion, the ideal would be to maintain blood levels above 30 ng/ml. Vitamin D is essential to the immune system and processes such as calcium absorption.

"We believe that many diseases can be aggravated by a chronic deficiency of vitamin D," states Faustino R. P-rez-L-pez, researcher at the University of Zaragoza. In particular, this is worse during the menopause as low levels of vitamin D in the blood are associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis, loss of motor coordination and bone fractures.

Vitamin D deficiency is a real problem in Europe as levels in the blood are low in 50% to 70% of the population. P-rez-L-pez points out that "healthcare professionals should be aware that this is a common problem which affects a large part of the population in Europe, even those who live in sunny places." See original story

Vitamin D Won't Help Most COPD Patients

Vitamin D supplements don't seem to help most patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a new study by Belgian investigators.

Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the two main forms of COPD, and many sufferers have both. The condition makes it hard for people to breathe.

Since most COPD patients are vitamin D deficient and vitamin D helps fight inflammation, the hope was that high doses of the sunshine vitamin would reduce the number of severe flare-ups ("exacerbations") that can land patients in the hospital, researchers said.

"There are studies showing that patients with vitamin D deficiency are more susceptible to different inflammatory, infectious and autoimmune diseases, and most likely COPD," said lead investigator Dr. Wim Janssens, from the respiratory division at University Hospital Gasthuisberg in Leuven.

However, this study found only a limited benefit from vitamin D supplementation, he said.

"Vitamin D restoration to normal levels in COPD patients does not reduce the number of exacerbations, does not reduce the infections and inflammation," Janssens said. See original story

Limited evidence that vitamin D supplements of any benefit for patients with HIV

There is only scant evidence that vitamin D supplementation is of benefit for patients with HIV, according to UK investigators writing in the January 28th edition of AIDS.

The authors conducted a systematic review of studies examining the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with HIV, the effects of antiretroviral therapy on vitamin D levels, the effects of vitamin D deficiency and HIV therapy on bone metabolism and fracture risk, and the benefits of vitamin D supplements.

Both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies showed that vitamin D deficiency was widespread in HIV-positive patients. Moreover, there was evidence that starting HIV therapy, especially regimens containing efavirenz (Sustiva, also in the combination pill Atripla), was accompanied by a drop in concentrations of vitamin D. Studies also showed that bone turnover increased in the early years of antiretroviral therapy.

However, the clinical consequences of vitamin D deficiency and reduced bone turnover were unclear. Nor was there sufficient evidence to advocate widespread use of vitamin D supplements by HIV-positive patients. See original story

Interestingly, though Vitamin D is supplied freely by good old sunshine, an estimated 40 to 75 percent people are deficient according to WebMD.

Many factors affect the skin's ability to produce vitamin D, including season, time of day, latitude, air pollution, cloud cover, sunscreen, body parts exposed, color, and age. Dermatologists recommend using sunscreen and getting vitamin D from food and supplements rather than risk the harmful rays of the sun.