title: Evaluation of vitamin D level in patients from neurosurgical intensive care unit.
abstract: Vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining normal bone metabolism. Recent studies have suggested that vitamin D influences many other physiological processes, including muscle function, cardiovascular homeostasis, nerve function, and immune response. Furthermore, accumulated evidence suggests that vitamin D also mediates the immune system response to infection. Critical neurosurgical patients have higher infection and mortality rates. To correlate vitamin D deficiency to the immunological status of neurosurgical intensive care unit patients, we detected serum vitamin D level in 15 patients with clinically suspected infection and 10 patients with confirmed infection. Serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, the primary circulating form of vitamin D, was significantly decreased in patients with suspected or confirmed infection after a 2-week neurosurgical intensive care unit hospitalization, while serum level of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the active form of vitamin D, was significantly decreased in patients after a 4-week neurosurgical intensive care unit hospitalization. These findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency is linked to the immunological status of neurosurgical intensive care unit patients and vitamin D supplementation can improve patient's immunological status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Ho Jun
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Soon Chun Hyang University Bucheon Hospital, Gyeonggi-do, Korea.
authors.forename: Je Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Kangdong, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Eun-Sun
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Il Young
authors.initials: IY
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyung Sik
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seung-Myung
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Moon
keywords: immune deficiency; infectious diseases; intensive care unit; neural regeneration; neuroregeneration; neurosurgery; vitamin D; white blood cell