Contents

*and Marcus O.W. Grimm*



Preface

produced more than 500 million years ago. During evolution, compound D progressively participated in several biological processes. It is now widely accepted that Vitamin D is a steroid (more precisely, a secosteroid) hormone. Many preclinical research and clinical studies demonstrated that hormone D plays several physiological key roles in different areas, and that its essential function is not limited to bone growth and maintenance, as believed in the past. It was demonstrated that its deficiency causes several detrimental effects on our health and these problems can be addressed by means of Vitamin D administration. Thanks to the anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, and antibacterial activities exerted by hormone D, it is very effective in the treatment of several systemic illnesses in the field of endocrinology,

Vitamin D is one the first hormones, or even the very first hormone that was

immunology, oncology, hematology, neurology, and reproductive medicine.

and Adults"; Section 2 "Vitamin D Deficiency and Brain Functions"; Section 3

the pathogenesis of cardiovascular, metabolic, immune, and renal disorders.

This book is organized into four sections: Section 1 "Vitamin D Deficiency in Children

"Vitamin D Deficiency and Metabolic Diseases"; and Section 4 "Vitamin D Deficiency and Chronic Diseases". Chapters in these sections cover the earliest investigations of hypovitaminosis D in children and adults, the consequences of Vitamin D deficiency for the cognitive functions of the brain, and the implication of Vitamin D deficiency in

An important theme developed in Section 1 is Vitamin D status in children, adults, and pregnant women. The different ways to improve the status of Vitamin D deficiency and distinct strategies for it in young and old humans are discussed in several chapters of this section. The exciting role of Vitamin D deficiency in brain disturbances is discussed in the chapters of Section 2. An important future direction for study of Vitamin D deficiency implication in the metabolic processes is a section on the beneficial effects of Vitamin D in obesity and diabetes mellitus. Finally, the last section of this book promotes the understanding of implications of Vitamin D deficiency in the pathology of renal, autoimmune, and cardiovascular diseases that may help to find the best strategy of therapy for the patients with such diseases.

The book summarizes the meaning of Vitamin D deficiency in the development of various chronic diseases in humans. However, many questions still remain and will likely fuel ongoing investigation and debate. These questions will likely keep the

**Julia Fedotova, Ph.D. habil.**

St. Petersburg, Russia

Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, I.P. Pavlov Institute of Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences,

Professor,

story open on pleiotropic effects of Vitamin D for the future.
