Vitamin D Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Vitamin D, including details on sources, melanin, benefits, deficiency, supplements, calcium absorption.

Vitamin D, shedding light on the development of disease in peripheral arteries.

Norman PE, Powell JT

School of Surgery and Pathology, The University of Western Australia, Fremantle Hospital, Fremantle, Western Australia.

Vitamin D is generally associated with calcium metabolism, especially in the context of uptake in the intestine and the formation and maintenance of bone. However, vitamin D influences a wide range of metabolic systems through both genomic and nongenomic pathways that have an impact on the properties of peripheral arteries. The genomic effects have wide importance for angiogenesis, elastogenesis, and immunomodulation; the nongenomic effects have mainly been observed in the presence of hypertension. Although some vitamin D is essential for cardiovascular health, excess may have detrimental effects, particularly on elastogenesis and inflammation of the arterial wall. Vitamin D is likely to have a role in the paradoxical association between arterial calcification and osteoporosis. This review explores the relationship between vitamin D and a range of physiological and pathological processes relevant to peripheral arteries.

Published 31 December 2004 in Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, 25(1): 39-46.
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