title: Vitamin D: current status and perspectives.
abstract: The role of vitamin D in maintaining bone health has been known for decades. Recently, however, the discovery that many tissues expressed the vitamin D receptor and were able to transform the 25-OH vitamin D into its most active metabolite, 1,25-(OH)(2) vitamin D, has led to a very promising future for this "old" molecule. Indeed, observational studies, and more and more interventional studies, are raising the importance of a significant vitamin D supplementation for not-only skeletal benefits. Among them, 25-OH vitamin D has been found to play an important role in prevention of cancers, auto-immune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and infections. Vitamin D deficiency, defined as serum 25-OH vitamin D levels <30 ng/mL, is very common in our population. The cost/benefit ratio and some recently published studies are clearly now in favor of a controlled and efficient vitamin D supplementation in these patients presenting a 25-OH vitamin D level <30 ng/mL. More attention should also be focused on pregnant and lactating women, as well as children and adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Chemistry, University Hospital of Liege, University of Liege, Belgium. Etienne.cavalier@chu.ulg.ac.be
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cavalier
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Delanaye
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Chapelle
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Souberbielle
mesh_terms: D019587:Dietary Supplements; D006801:Humans; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D