Clinical trial: Vitamin D in the prostate
March 28, 2013 -- John Cannell, MD
Professor Reinhold Vieth at the University of Toronto is one of my heroes. It was his 1999 review paper on vitamin D, which I must have read ten times, a paper freely available for all to read, that first convinced me vitamin D would change the face of modern medicine. He outlined the difference between physiological doses (up to 10,000 IU/day) and pharmacological doses (50,000 to 100,000 IU/day), writing that pharmacological doses would have been studied long ago if vitamin D was a drug that could be patented.
So far, only patentable and expensive analogues of activated vitamin D have received the financial support to undergo the sort of rigorous testing needed to be approved as therapeutic agents by the FDA. They have been studied in a variety of illnesses, mostly cancer, but with minimal success. The key issue is how much activated vitamin D one can get into a cancerous tumor, say prostate cancer, by giving an activated vitamin D analogue.
Normally, the amount of activated vitamin D in a tissue like the prostate is largely determined by its regulated production within that tissue. What has been discovered the hard way, has been that the approach of providing the activated vitamin D by mouth so that some of it reaches the prostate, actually ends up overdosing the whole body when all you want to do is affect the prostate. What has never been answered is whether you can increase the amount of activated vitamin D in a tumor, like prostate cancer, simply by providing the body with enough plain vitamin D so that the tissue has enough to take care of its own needs.
The prostate gland is one of the few organs that can both make 25(OH)D and activate it as well. Unlike some other cancers, many prostate cancers retain the ability to activate vitamin D, so theoretically you may be able to get high doses of activated vitamin D inside prostate cancer cells by simply giving plain vitamin D, although this has remained theoretical until Professor Vieth’s latest paper.
This is important in treating cancer because based on what we know from laboratory experiments is that high levels of activated vitamin D inside cancer cells produce anticancer effects. Continue reading → (no membership required) Food allergy, a tale of two studies
April 2, 2013 -- John Cannell, MD
The literature on vitamin D and food allergy is conflicting with some studies implying vitamin D protects against food allergy and some studies implying it causes it. Dr Cannell reviews the two most recent studies on vitamin D and food allergy in infants. Continue reading → (membership required) Multiple sclerosis increases as you move away from equator
March 27, 2013 -- Brant Cebulla
New research from the University of Queensland, Australia, has confirmed once again, the incidence of multiple sclerosis increases the further you move away from the equator. Continue reading → (membership required) Rare, aggressive skin cancer prognosis linked to vitamin D deficiency
March 26, 2013 -- John Cannell, MD
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and highly aggressive neuroendocrine skin cancer. Dr M. Samimi and colleagues of Tours France decided to see if vitamin D deficiency was associated with tumor characteristics and prognosis in MCC. Continue reading → (membership required) Marshall University 25th annual Research Day
March 31, 2013 -- John Cannell, MD
This past week, Dr Cannell gave a series of lectures and was the keynote speaker at Marshall University School of Medicine’s 25th annual research day. Continue reading → (no membership required) Do vitamin D levels predict bone mineral density in children?
March 29, 2013 -- John Cannell, MD
Recently, Doctors at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China measured vitamin D levels and bone mineral density (BMD) in children using ultrasound. Continue reading → (membership required)
Vitamin D deficiency linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes
March 28, 2013 -- Vitamin D Council News
There is a link between maternal vitamin D deficiency and adverse health outcomes, according to the latest systematic review and meta-analysis published in British Medical Journal. Continue reading → Vitamin D benefits breathing in tuberculosis patients
March 26, 2013 -- Vitamin D Council News
Maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels may help people breath better and may even protect against tuberculosis, according to research accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Continue reading → Vitamin D deficiency common in women with heart condition
March 27, 2013 -- Vitamin D Council News
Women diagnosed with takotsubo cardiomyopathy, a condition that causes sudden temporary weakening of the muscles of the heart, have a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency, according to research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Continue reading → How does vitamin D stop breast cancer growth?
April 2, 2013 -- Vitamin D Event
This week's free Grassroots Health webinar features JoEllen Welsh, PhD, discussing how "Vitamin D stops breast cancer cell growth."
Register here for today's webinar, which starts at 10am PST! Have a vitamin D question? You can submit your questions for Dr Welsh when you register.
March 28, 2013 -- John Cannell, MD
Professor Reinhold Vieth at the University of Toronto is one of my heroes. It was his 1999 review paper on vitamin D, which I must have read ten times, a paper freely available for all to read, that first convinced me vitamin D would change the face of modern medicine. He outlined the difference between physiological doses (up to 10,000 IU/day) and pharmacological doses (50,000 to 100,000 IU/day), writing that pharmacological doses would have been studied long ago if vitamin D was a drug that could be patented.
So far, only patentable and expensive analogues of activated vitamin D have received the financial support to undergo the sort of rigorous testing needed to be approved as therapeutic agents by the FDA. They have been studied in a variety of illnesses, mostly cancer, but with minimal success. The key issue is how much activated vitamin D one can get into a cancerous tumor, say prostate cancer, by giving an activated vitamin D analogue.
Normally, the amount of activated vitamin D in a tissue like the prostate is largely determined by its regulated production within that tissue. What has been discovered the hard way, has been that the approach of providing the activated vitamin D by mouth so that some of it reaches the prostate, actually ends up overdosing the whole body when all you want to do is affect the prostate. What has never been answered is whether you can increase the amount of activated vitamin D in a tumor, like prostate cancer, simply by providing the body with enough plain vitamin D so that the tissue has enough to take care of its own needs.
The prostate gland is one of the few organs that can both make 25(OH)D and activate it as well. Unlike some other cancers, many prostate cancers retain the ability to activate vitamin D, so theoretically you may be able to get high doses of activated vitamin D inside prostate cancer cells by simply giving plain vitamin D, although this has remained theoretical until Professor Vieth’s latest paper.
This is important in treating cancer because based on what we know from laboratory experiments is that high levels of activated vitamin D inside cancer cells produce anticancer effects. Continue reading → (no membership required) Food allergy, a tale of two studies
April 2, 2013 -- John Cannell, MD
The literature on vitamin D and food allergy is conflicting with some studies implying vitamin D protects against food allergy and some studies implying it causes it. Dr Cannell reviews the two most recent studies on vitamin D and food allergy in infants. Continue reading → (membership required) Multiple sclerosis increases as you move away from equator
March 27, 2013 -- Brant Cebulla
New research from the University of Queensland, Australia, has confirmed once again, the incidence of multiple sclerosis increases the further you move away from the equator. Continue reading → (membership required) Rare, aggressive skin cancer prognosis linked to vitamin D deficiency
March 26, 2013 -- John Cannell, MD
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and highly aggressive neuroendocrine skin cancer. Dr M. Samimi and colleagues of Tours France decided to see if vitamin D deficiency was associated with tumor characteristics and prognosis in MCC. Continue reading → (membership required) Marshall University 25th annual Research Day
March 31, 2013 -- John Cannell, MD
This past week, Dr Cannell gave a series of lectures and was the keynote speaker at Marshall University School of Medicine’s 25th annual research day. Continue reading → (no membership required) Do vitamin D levels predict bone mineral density in children?
March 29, 2013 -- John Cannell, MD
Recently, Doctors at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China measured vitamin D levels and bone mineral density (BMD) in children using ultrasound. Continue reading → (membership required)
Vitamin D deficiency linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes
March 28, 2013 -- Vitamin D Council News
There is a link between maternal vitamin D deficiency and adverse health outcomes, according to the latest systematic review and meta-analysis published in British Medical Journal. Continue reading → Vitamin D benefits breathing in tuberculosis patients
March 26, 2013 -- Vitamin D Council News
Maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels may help people breath better and may even protect against tuberculosis, according to research accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Continue reading → Vitamin D deficiency common in women with heart condition
March 27, 2013 -- Vitamin D Council News
Women diagnosed with takotsubo cardiomyopathy, a condition that causes sudden temporary weakening of the muscles of the heart, have a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency, according to research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Continue reading → How does vitamin D stop breast cancer growth?
April 2, 2013 -- Vitamin D Event
This week's free Grassroots Health webinar features JoEllen Welsh, PhD, discussing how "Vitamin D stops breast cancer cell growth."
Register here for today's webinar, which starts at 10am PST! Have a vitamin D question? You can submit your questions for Dr Welsh when you register.
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