Rickets, scientific nomenclature: rachitis, is a condition that results in weak or soft bones in children and is caused by either dietary deficiency or genetic causes. Symptoms include bowed legs, stunted growth, bone pain, large forehead, and trouble sleeping. Complications may include bone deformities, bone pseudofractures and fractures, muscle spasms, or an abnormally curved spine.
7-Dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC) is a zoosterol that functions in the serum as a cholesterol precursor, and is photochemically converted to vitamin D3 in the skin, therefore functioning as provitamin-D3. The presence of this compound in human skin enables humans to manufacture vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Upon exposure to ultraviolet UV-B rays in the sun light, 7-DHC is converted into vitamin D3 via previtamin D3 as an intermediate isomer. It is also found in the milk of several mammalian species. Lanolin, a waxy substance that is naturally secreted by wool-bearing mammals, contains 7-DHC which is converted into vitamin D by sunlight and then ingested during grooming as a nutrient. In insects 7-dehydrocholesterol is a precursor for the hormone ecdysone, required for reaching adulthood. 7-DHC was discovered by Nobel-laureate organic chemist Adolf Windaus.
Cholecalciferol, also known as vitamin D3 or colecalciferol, is a type of vitamin D that is produced by the skin when exposed to UVB light; it is found in certain foods and can be taken as a dietary supplement.
Ergocalciferol, also known as vitamin D2 and nonspecifically calciferol, is a type of vitamin D found in food and used as a dietary supplement. As a supplement it is used to prevent and treat vitamin D deficiency. This includes vitamin D deficiency due to poor absorption by the intestines or liver disease. It may also be used for low blood calcium due to hypoparathyroidism. It is taken by mouth or via injection into a muscle.
Calcitriol is a hormone and the active form of vitamin D, normally made in the kidney. It is also known as 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol. It binds to and activates the vitamin D receptor in the nucleus of the cell, which then increases the expression of many genes. Calcitriol increases blood calcium mainly by increasing the uptake of calcium from the intestines.
Vitamin D toxicity, or hypervitaminosis D, is the toxic state of an excess of vitamin D. The normal range for blood concentration in adults is 20 to 50 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL).
Secondary hyperparathyroidism is the medical condition of excessive secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH) by the parathyroid glands in response to hypocalcemia, with resultant hyperplasia of these glands. This disorder is primarily seen in patients with chronic kidney failure. It is sometimes abbreviated "SHPT" in medical literature.
25-Hydroxyvitamin D 1-alpha-hydroxylase also known as calcidiol 1-monooxygenase or cytochrome p450 27B1 (CYP27B1) or simply 1-alpha-hydroxylase is a cytochrome P450 enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CYP27B1 gene.
Calcitroic acid (1α-hydroxy-23-carboxy-24,25,26,27-tetranorvitamin D3) is a major metabolite of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (calcitriol). Around 1980, scientists first reported the isolation of calcitroic acid from the aqueous extract of radioactively treated animals' livers and intestines. Subsequent researches confirmed calcitroic acid to be a part of enterohepatic circulation. Often synthesized in the liver and kidneys, calcitroic acid is generated in the body after vitamin D is first converted into calcitriol, an intermediate in the fortification of bone through the formation and regulation of calcium in the body. These pathways managed by calcitriol are thought to be inactivated through its hydroxylation by the enzyme CYP24A1, also called calcitriol 24-hydroxylase. Specifically, It is thought to be the major route to inactivate vitamin D metabolites. The hydroxylation and oxidation reactions will yield either calcitroic acid via the C24 oxidation pathway or 1,25(OH2)D3-26,23-lactone via the C23 lactone pathway. However, the only scientifically known formation of calcitroic acid is through an oxidative reaction of the 1ɑ,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3. The positions of C24 and C23 undergo multiple oxidative reactions. Thus, causing the large and small side chains of 1ɑ,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 to cleave off and form calcitroic acid.
Cytochrome P450 family 24 subfamily A member 1 (abbreviated CYP24A1) is a member of the cytochrome P450 superfamily of enzymes encoded by the CYP24A1 gene. It is a mitochondrial monooxygenase which catalyzes reactions including 24-hydroxylation of calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3). It has also been identified as vitamin D3 24-hydroxylase.(EC 1.14.15.16)
CYP2R1 is cytochrome P450 2R1, an enzyme which is the principal vitamin D 25-hydroxylase. In humans it is encoded by the CYP2R1 gene located on chromosome 11p15.2. It is expressed in the endoplasmic reticulum in liver, where it performs the first step in the activation of vitamin D by catalyzing the formation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
Vitamin D5 (sitocalciferol) is a form of vitamin D.
24,25-Dihydroxycholecalciferol, also known as 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and (24R)-hydroxycalcidiol (abbreviated as 24(R),25-(OH)2D3), is a compound which is closely related to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, the active form of vitamin D3. Like vitamin D3 itself and calcifediol (25-hydroxyvitamin D3), it is inactive as a hormone both in vitro and in vivo. It was first identified in 1972 in the laboratory of Hector DeLuca and Michael F. Holick.
Vitamin D deficiency or hypovitaminosis D is a vitamin D level that is below normal. It most commonly occurs in people when they have inadequate exposure to sunlight, particularly sunlight with adequate ultraviolet B rays (UVB). Vitamin D deficiency can also be caused by inadequate nutritional intake of vitamin D; disorders that limit vitamin D absorption; and disorders that impair the conversion of vitamin D to active metabolites, including certain liver, kidney, and hereditary disorders. Deficiency impairs bone mineralization, leading to bone-softening diseases, such as rickets in children. It can also worsen osteomalacia and osteoporosis in adults, increasing the risk of bone fractures. Muscle weakness is also a common symptom of vitamin D deficiency, further increasing the risk of fall and bone fractures in adults. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with the development of schizophrenia.
Alfacalcidol is an analogue of vitamin D used for supplementation in humans and as a poultry feed additive.
Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble prohormones.
Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, along with numerous other biological functions. In humans, the most significant compounds within this group are vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol).
Michael F. Holick is an American adult endocrinologist, specializing in vitamin D, such as the identification of both calcidiol, the major circulating form of vitamin D, and calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D. His work has been the basis for diagnostic tests and therapies for vitamin D-related diseases. He is a professor of medicine at the Boston University Medical Center and editor-in-chief of the journal Clinical Laboratory.
Vitamin D3 24-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.15.16, CYP24A1) is an enzyme with systematic name calcitriol,NADPH:oxygen oxidoreductase (24-hydroxylating). This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction
Vitamin D deficiency has become a worldwide health epidemic with clinical rates on the rise. In the years of 2011–12, it was estimated that around 4 million adults were considered deficient in Vitamin D throughout Australia. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found 23%, or one in four Australian adults suffer from some form of Vitamin D deficiency. Outlined throughout the article are the causes of increase through subgroups populations, influencing factors and strategies in place to control deficiency rates throughout Australia.
