Vitamin D and respiratory disorder

The active form of vitamin D is synthesized in some body organs following sun exposure and dietary intake. Vitamin D exhibits its major and critical effects not only through regulation of calcium and phosphate metabolism but also by influencing on respiratory and immune system. Serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D below the optimum limit lead to vitamin D insufficiency or maybe deficiency. These inappropriate concentrations of vitamin D lead to different types of pulmonary diseases such as viral and bacterial respiratory infection, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cancer. In this review we described the association between vitamin D deficiency and severe therapy resistant asthma. We also reviewed the underlying molecular mechanism of vitamin D deficiency in children with severetherapy resistant asthma. Based on current information, future clinical trial are needed to study the role of vitamin D supplementation on different groups of patients with severe asthma including infants, children of school age, and ethnic minorities

Congenital rickets: report of four cases

Vitamin D deficiency and rickets continue to be health problems in developing countries and most of the infants with congenital rickets may present with hypocalcemic seizure. In this article, the report on four infants who presented with hypocalcemic seizures but subsequently were found to have congenital rickets is presented. All of them had hypocalcaemia and low level of serum 25- hydroxy vitamin D. Their mothers had not received vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy and so evidence of vitamin D deficiency was presented. Although current vitamin D supplementation guidelines for infants was effective in prevention of rickets in Iranian children, it is necessary to evaluate women before pregnancy to prevent this entity. Also infants without vitamin D supplementation therapy who present with seizures during the first 6 months of age should undergo biochemical and other investigations for rickets