In Vitamin D: Physiology, Molecular Biology, and Clinical Applications, Second Edition, leading researchers provide a comprehensive, highly readable overview of the biological functions and clinical applications of vitamin D and its metabolites. Topics range from the most recent recommendations for vitamin D intake to new approaches for the treatment and prevention of vitamin D deficiency and the development of active vitamin D drugs to treat psoriasis and cancer. The book demonstrates the significant role that vitamin D has in maintaining good bone health and the prevention of osteoporosis, an important health problem for adults over the age of fifty. In addition, it authoritatively reviews the relationship between sunlight exposure, vitamin D, and increased risk of colon and breast cancer; how vitamin D is made in the skin; and the sequence of events that leads to its activation by the kidney. Also examined are the biological functions of 1,25-dihydrovitamin D3 on the intestine and bone, as well as other tissues, such as skin, the immune system, prostate, and breast, and vitamin D's molecular mechanism of action on the cell membrane and nucleus.

Most recent recommendations for vitamin D intake

and Basic Biology.- Vitamin D and Health: Evolution, Biologic Functions, and Recommended Dietary Intakes for Vitamin D.- Photobiology of Vitamin D.- The Functional Metabolism and Molecular Biology of Vitamin D Action.- Metabolism and Catabolism of Vitamin D, Its Metabolites and Clinically Relevant Analogs.- The Molecular Biology of the Vitamin D Receptor.- VDR and RXR Subcellular Trafficking.- Mechanism of Action of 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 on Intestinal Calcium Absorption and Renal Calcium Transport.- Biological and Molecular Effects of Vitamin D on Bone.- Biological and Molecular Effects of Vitamin D on the Kidney.- Vitamin D and the Parathyroids.- Diversity of Vitamin D Target Genes.- Non-skeletal/Functions of Vitamin D.- Extrarenal Synthesis of 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D and Its Health Implications.- Vitamin D and the Innate Immunity.- Vitamin D and Colon Cancer.- Mechanisms of Resistance to Vitamin D Action in Human Cancer Cells.- Vitamin D and the Brain: A Neuropsychiatric Perspective.- Vitamin D Modulation of Adipocyte Function.- Vitamin D Status - Global Analysis.- Determinants of Vitamin D Intake.- 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Assays and Their Clinical Utility.- Health Disparities and Vitamin D.- Vitamin D Deficiency in Canada.- Vitamin D Deficiency and Its Health Consequences in Northern Europe.- Vitamin D Deficiency and Consequences for the Health of People in Mediterranean Countries.- Vitamin D Deficiency in the Middle East and Its Health Consequences.- Vitamin D Deficiency in the Middle East and Its Health Consequences for Adults.- Vitamin D Deficiency and Its Health Consequences in Africa.- Vitamin D Deficiency and Its Health Consequences in India.- Vitamin D Deficiency, Rickets, and Fluorosis in India.- Vitamin D in Asia.- Vitamin D Deficiency and Its HealthConsequences in New Zealand.- Toxicity of Vitamin D.- Health Consequences of Vitamin D Deficiency and Resistance on Musculo Skeletal Health.- Vitamin D Deficiency in Pregnancy and Lactation and Health Consequences.- Vitamin D Deficiency in Children and Its Health Consequences.- Dietary Calcium Deficiency and Rickets.- Vitamin D in Fracture Prevention and Muscle Function and Fall Prevention.- Inherited Defects of Vitamin D Metabolism.- Molecular Defects in the Vitamin D Receptor Associated with Hereditary 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D-Resistant Rickets (HVDRR).- Receptor-Independent Vitamin D Resistance in Subhuman and Human Primates.- 25-Hydroxyvitamin D-1?- Hydroxylase: Studies in Mouse Models and Implications for Human Disease.- Sunlight, Vitamin D and Cancer.- The Health Benefits of Solar Irradiance and Vitamin DVitamin D and the Consequences of Their Deprivation.- Vitamin D Status, Solar Radiation and Cancer Prognosis.- The Epidemiology of Vitamin D and Cancer Risk.- Vitamin D Deficiency and the Epidemiology of Prostate Cancer.- Vitamin D for Cancer Prevention and Survival.- The Anti-cancer Effect of Vitamin D: What Do the Randomized Trials Show?.- Sunlight, Skin Cancer, and Vitamin D.- Vitamin D Deficiency and Chronic Disease.- Vitamin D and the Risk of Type 1 Diabetes.- Vitamin D and Multiple Sclerosis.- Vitamin D and Type 2 Diabetes.- Role of Vitamin D for Cardiovascular Health.- Vitamin D, Renin, and Blood Pressure.- Role of Vitamin D and Vitamin D Analogs for Bone Health and Survival in Chronic Kidney Disease.- Role of Vitamin D and Ultraviolet Radiation in Chronic Kidney Disease.- Role of Vitamin D in Rheumatoid Arthritis.- Vitamin D, Respiratory Infections, and Obstructive Airway Diseases.- Clinical Uses of Vitamin D Analogues.- Treatment of ImmunomediatedDiseases by Vitamin D Analogs.- Clinical Utility of 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 and Its Analogues for the Treatment of Psoriasis.- Affinity Alkylating Vitamin D Analogs as Molecular Probes and Therapeutic Agents.- Anti-inflammatory Activity of Calcitriol That Contributes to Its Therapeutic and Chemopreventive Effects in Prostate Cancer.