Abstract

RAUBENHEIMER, EJ  and  NOFFKE, CEE. Vitamin D and health: a historical overview. SA orthop. j. [online]. 2011, vol.10, n.2, pp.39-43. ISSN 2309-8309.

Awareness of the importance of skin exposure to UV rays for normal bone growth and systemic health increased with landmark scientific discoveries over the past century. Several Nobel-prize laureates unravelled the steps involved in the activation of 7-dehydrocholesterol to 1,25 (OH)2 vitamin D (or vit D3) which is rapidly becoming the most important medical discovery in the past decade. Recent developments in our understanding of the impact of vit D on the immune system, carbohydrate metabolism, and cardiovascular and neoplastic diseases are briefly highlighted.

Keywords : vitamin D; cholecalciferol; ergocalciferol; phototherapy; UV light.

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