Foreword

Vitamin D was discovered in the 1920s as a substance in cod liver oil that cured sick dogs of a bone disorder called rickets. Because it was proven to be something different than Vitamin A which had also been characterized in cod liver oil, and a vitamin B and C had already been claimed, the new substance was called vitamin D. We have come a long way! We now recognize the pluripotency of vitamin D and as more has been learned in recent years about the biology of vitamin D it continues to fascinate scientists and spur new discovery. Thus, this eBook is a timely review of science and medical knowledge underpinning our current understanding of vitamin D and what the future might hold as we learn to apply that new knowledge.

In recent years, vitamin D has been commonly referenced in the lay press. In particular, the question of how to deal with vitamin D deficiency as a public health concern has been frequently in the news. At the same time public and medical awareness has increased of the potential health consequences vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency, depending on how one wants to define it, a growing body of data is focused on the potential pharmaceutical applications of vitamin D therapy. Certainly, this aspect has been facilitated by discovery and development of several chemical analogs of vitamin D and their dramatic utility in treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism associated with endstage renal disease, a mineral abnormality commonly associated with kidney disease. As this eBook highlights, there is increasing clinical evidence to suggest pharmacological therapy with vitamin D analogs, or vitamin D receptor modulators (VDRMs) as we prefer to call them, may have significant benefit from beyond treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism.

This eBook reviews the history of vitamin D, current medical practice, and recent advances in our understanding of vitamin D’s important role beyond mineral metabolism. In particular, its importance to cardiovascular health is made clear. This relationship is most evident in patients who suffer from chronic kidney disease (CKD). The progressive and irreversible nature of CKD is strongly associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Unfortunately, the global prevalence of CKD is rapidly growing due to the epidemic of type 2 diabetes, and an aging population. The associated costs of treating these patients, especially in the later stages of disease, represent a large and growing health care burden that cannot be sustained, demanding new treatment and perhaps more aggressive treatment with existing therapeutic approaches.

Each of the authors are experts actively engaged in vitamin D research. Their chapters highlight the continuing advances being made in discovery and development of novel VDRM drugs which have great potential to improve the lives of many patients suffering from CKD, and other diseases of vitamin D deficiency. This volume will serve as a useful guide to both experienced and novice vitamin D researchers and clinicians, and to those generally interested and staying current with an active area of science that has broad implications on human health.

Read, learn and do!