Context  The role and dose of oral vitamin D supplementation in nonvertebral fracture prevention have not been well established.

 

Objective  To estimate the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation in preventing hip and nonvertebral fractures in older persons.

 

Data Sources  A systematic review of English and non-English articles using MEDLINE and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (1960-2005),

The effect of vitamin C on the common cold has been the subject of several studies. These studies do not support a considerable decrease in the incidence of the common cold with supplemental vitamin C. However, vitamin C has consistently decreased the duration of cold episodes and the severity of symptoms. The benefits that have been observed in different studies show a large variation and,

Inheriting genetic risk factors for multiple sclerosis (MS) is not sufficient to cause this demyelinating disease of the central nervous system; exposure to environmental risk factors is also required. MS may be preventable if these unidentified environmental factors can be avoided. MS prevalence increases with decreasing solar radiation, suggesting that sunlight may be protective in MS.

Abstract  The evidence that specific vitamins may be beneficial in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is supported by mechanistic models of atherogenesis. We and others have published observational epidemiologic studies in support of vitamins in the primary prevention of CVD, but the results from intervention studies are mixed. This article summarizes the recent results for vitamin E,

Vitamin D insufficiency is more prevalent among African Americans (blacks) than other Americans and, in North America, most young, healthy blacks do not achieve optimal 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations at any time of year. This is primarily due to the fact that pigmentation reduces vitamin D production in the skin. Also, from about puberty and onward,

Background  Observational and some experimental data suggest that low intake of vitamin K may be associated with an increased risk of fracture.

 

Objective  To assess whether oral vitamin K (phytonadione and menaquinone) supplementation can reduce bone loss and prevent fractures.

 

Data Sources 

Limited data from human observational studies suggest that early supplementation with 10 µg/d (400 IU/d) or less of vitamin D may not reduce the risk for type 1 diabetes but that doses of 50 µg/d (2000 IU/d) and higher may have a strong protective effect. Current U.S. recommendations (5–25 µg/d, 200-1000 IU/d) fall in the largely unstudied dose range in between.

Background The increased prevalence of osteoporosis among people with homocystinuria suggests that a high serum homocysteine concentration may weaken bone by interfering with collagen cross-linking, thereby increasing the risk of osteoporotic fracture. We examined the association between the total homocysteine concentration and the risk of hip fracture in men and women enrolled in the Framingham Study.

In mid-20th century United States, deaths from vascular disease reached a peak incidence in 1955, but little was known about the underlying causes of this epidemic of disease. The significance of homocysteine in human disease was unknown until 1962, when cases of homocystinuria were first associated with vascular disease. Analysis of an archival case of homocystinuria from 1933 and a case of cobalamin C disease from 1968 led to the conclusion that homocysteine causes vascular disease by a direct effect of the amino acid on arterial cells and tissues.