Vitamin D Council April 24th , 2012
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  Correction of vitamin D deficiency improves seizure control in epilepsy
April 18, 2012 -- Brant Cebulla
Correction of vitamin D deficiency could help control seizures in epilepsy, according to a recently published study by a group of researchers in Hungary.

Holló A, Clemens Z, Kamondi A, Lakatos P, Szűcs A. Correction of vitamin D deficiency improves seizure control in epilepsy: A pilot study. Epilepsy and Behavior. 2012 Apr 11.

Lead investigator András Holló and company measured baseline levels of vitamin D in 13 subjects. Ten of the subjects had localization-related epilepsy, two had Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and one subject was diagnosed with idiopathic generalized epilepsy. The subjects’ ages ranged between 19-60 years and had epilepsy from 10 to 42 years. Median serum levels at baseline were 11.8 ng/ml, ranging from less than 4 ng/ml to 34.2 ng/ml. Eight of the patients had levels less than 12 ng/ml.

The investigators corrected deficiency in all 13 subjects by administering a one-time 40,000-200,000 IU dose of vitamin D3 to treat deficiency, and then administering a 2,000-2,600 IU daily dose of vitamin D3 for 3 months. The aim of treatment was to raise levels above 30 ng/ml. After a three month follow-up, the median 25(OH)D level was 38 ng/ml, ranging from 23.3-45 ng/ml.

They compared the number of seizures in this 3 month period with the 3 month period beforehand. The results were as follows:

•     10 of the 13 subjects exhibited a decrease in number of seizures
•     2 of the 13 subjects exhibited an increase in number of seizures
•     One of the subjects had exactly the same number of seizures
•     Overall, there was a median seizure number reduction of 40%, and this was statistically significant (p=.04)
•     A seizure reduction of greater than 50% was experienced in five patients
•     In the subject who started with a level less than 4 ng/ml and raised their level to 43.1 ng/ml, they experienced a reduction in number of seizures from 450 to 30 over three month intervals

The authors offered no mechanistic explanation for the results. They did point out that vitamin D receptors and enzyme activators are present in the brain. In the patient who had a level lower than 4 ng/ml and 450 seizures in three months, you can’t help but speculate that low serum calcium may have played a role in that subject’s seizure frequency.

Study limitations include small number of patients and lack of a placebo to compare to. This study certainly warrants a randomized controlled trial, and it also highlights the importance of correcting vitamin D deficiency in epilepsy patients. There is no harm in treating vitamin D deficiency, and this pilot study shows that epilepsy patients could be much better off with a simple maintenance dose of vitamin D.

The Vitamin D Council recommends a maintenance dose of 5,000 IU/day for adults and 1,000 IU/day for every 25lbs of body weight in children to sustain vitamin D sufficiency.

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Study shows link between vitamin D levels and risk of developing pre-eclampsia
April 17, 2012 -- John Cannell, MD

Dr Cannell reviews new research conducted by Dr. Shu Qin Wei and colleagues which shows a relationship between vitamin D levels in the third trimester of pregnancy and risk of developing pre-eclampsia, an inflammatory disorder responsible for 25% of all deaths of pregnant women. Continue reading → (membership required)

Vitamin D for infants
April 20, 2012 -- John Cannell, MD

Dr. Cannell reviews a study from a Polish group that examine if the 400 IU daily vitamin D recommendation for infants is adequate. Continue reading → (membership required)

Dietary vitamin D intake and sun exposure linked to lower risk of Alzhiemer's in France
April 23, 2012 -- Dr William Grant

Dr Grant reviews a recent study showing an association between vitamin D status and risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Continue reading → (open access)



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This is real good news seeing as this is the biggest killer of men!

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April 17, 2012
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  A step in the right direction: Vitamin D and prostate cancer
April 17, 2012 -- John Cannell, MD
Prostate cancer tends to develop in men over the age of fifty and, although it is one of the most prevalent types of cancer in men, many men never have symptoms and die of other causes. On the other hand, more aggressive prostate cancers account for more cancer-related deaths than any cancer except lung cancer. About two-thirds of cases are slow growing, the other third are more aggressive and fast growing.

The decision to treat a tumor contained within the prostate is a trade-off between the risk and expected benefits, especially quality of life. More and more often physicians and patients are electing to do nothing but wait (and hopefully enjoy life) for slow growing tumors.

The decision to wait is a calculated risk. Urologists look at a number of factors in prostate cancer to decide how to treat (if at all) prostate cancer. These factors include:

• Gleason Score: score given to prostate cancer based upon its microscopic appearance. Cancers with a higher Gleason score are more aggressive and have a worse prognosis. The Gleason scores range from 2 to 10, with 10 having the worst prognosis.
• Core biopsies positive:  usually urologists take 6-12 total biopsies at a time, called cores. The percentage of positive cores varies and often changes over time.
• PSA: a tumor marker that, taken with the other two factors above, may indicate prostate cancer. The higher the score, and the more rapidly it climbs, the worse the prognosis. It usually slowly increases over time in men with low-grade prostate cancer.

All of these factors, along with the presence or absence of cancer spread, change over time and influence whether or not an urologist and patient decide to treat the prostate cancer.

To give you an idea about how this works, if you took 20 men with low risk prostate cancer and do nothing but biopsy them again in a year, about 10% of the men will no longer have any cores positive. That’s right, about 10% of men will no longer have demonstrable cancer. However, most men will have either more cores positive or a higher Gleason score or higher PSA or all three.

This week, Drs. David Marshall, Sebastiano Gattoni-Celli and their colleagues from the Medical University at South Carolina published a study that reported administering vitamin D for a year, measuring cancer markers before and after. The results were astounding.

Marshall DT, et al. Vitamin D3 supplementation at 4,000 IU/day for one year results in a decrease of positive cores at repeat biopsy in subjects with low-risk prostate cancer under active surveillance. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2012.

This study administered 4,000 IU/day of vitamin D for one year to 44 men. The scientists chose 44 men with low risk prostate cancer, so they chose 44 men with  identical Gleason scores of 6, anywhere from 1-6 cores positive (out of 12 possible), and a PSA < 10.

Of the 44 men they followed, 60% showed a decrease in the number of positive cores or a decrease in their Gleason scores, or both. Only 34% showed an increase in the number of positive cores or an increase in their Gleason scores. 6% were unchanged over the year. PSA levels did not go up over the year. The authors classified 60% of the men as “responders” to vitamin D and 40% as “non-responders.”

Fifteen of the 44 men (34%) no longer had any cores positive. However, PSA did not go down so they may or may not still have prostate cancer. It also appeared that baseline vitamin D levels were important because men with higher baseline vitamin D levels had fewer cores positive for cancer and lower Gleason scores.

The authors report that the main problem with the study was the lack of a control group, other than historical groups of men treated conservatively. However, with 60% of the men responding to vitamin D, I wonder if an ethics committee would allow a randomized controlled trial, knowing some men in the control group would be vitamin D deficient.

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New research: Vitamin D supplements significantly reduce Ki67 in prostate cancer cells
April 10, 2012 -- John Cannell, MD

Dr Cannell reviews exciting new research conducted by Professor Reinhold Vieth which shows increasing vitamin D intake significantly reduces levels of Ki67, a protein that indicates cancer growth, in prostate cancer cells. Continue reading → (membership required)


The latest on stroke risk and vitamin D
April 4, 2012 -- John Cannell, MD

Dr Cannell reviews a recent observational study which shows a link between vitamin D deficiency and risk of stroke in women. Continue reading → (membership required)

CDC nutrition report: Vitamin D status is a public health problem
April 6, 2012 -- Brant Cebulla

Brant Cebulla reviews the CDC’s nutrition report comparing vitamin D status from 1988-2006. Even with the deficiency bar set extremely low, many are still deficient. Are you? Continue reading → (open access)

A challenging case: Dangerously low calcium levels
April 9, 2012 -- John Cannell, MD

Dr Cannell reviews a recent publication which takes a look at a particularly challenging case involving a patient who has dangerously low calcium levels. Continue reading → (membership required)

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Like us on Facebook / Follow on Twitter / Forward to a Friend / Add us on Google+ Copyright © 2012 The Vitamin D Council, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this because you signed up to regular email newsletters on the Vitamin D Council website.

Our mailing address is:
The Vitamin D Council1241 Johnson Ave. #134San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

For years I have been reading about diet and supplements in the hope of making my old age a little better and less painful. I keep coming across people who advocate a neolithic diet. A diet that our ancestors ate. A diet we no longer eat. It all makes sense if you think of what was available for them to eat and they prospered on that diet. So today we eat a processed "food" that lacks the great majority of those nutrients that our ancestors ate. A food that may taste good but health wise the nation does not do well on!
Do I advocate that you try this......no. I suggest you look at what this Doctor recommends and think about how this might improve your life. Also, if you think this is just one Doctors recommendation, look around on the internet and see what other Doctors are recommending. Maybe try it for awhile or try some of it for awhile...or not. It is all up to you.  And if you are going to ask your Doctor what he thinks, make sure he has done some research on the subject. Most dietitians are more knowledgeable than MD's on this subject....
as always copy and paste
http://www.terrywahls.com/about-Terry-Wahls

PS...For those of you who watched the video, you are wondering where is the vitamin D! It is in the organs of the range feed animals. Our ancestors ate the entire animal. It was just a matter of survival.

Black women tend to have higher amounts of breast cancer and aggressive breast cancer. Why? Because their vitamin D levels are lower than white women. Just a fact that the darker the skin the less vitamin D absorbed in a given time period.
Click on the study and check it out for yourself.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/243828.php

I might also add that levels of heart disease and cancer are higher for the same reasons in both sexes