Maintenance vitamin D3 dosage requirements in Chinese women with post menopausal osteoporosis living in the tropics.

Background And Objectives: Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) dose required to maintain sufficiency in non- Caucasian women with postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO) inthe tropics has not been well studied. Some guidelines mandate 800-1000 IU vitamin D/day but the Endocrine Society (US) advocates 1500-2000 IU/day to maintain 25-hydroxyvitamin-D (25(OH)D) concentration at >75 nmol/L. We aimed to establish oral cholecalciferol dose required to maintain 25(OH)D concentration at >75 nmol/L in PMO Chinese Malaysian women, postulating lower dose requirements amongst light-skinned subjects in the tropics.

Hypothalamic germinoma masquerading as superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome.

Objective: To report a case of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome secondary to hypothalamic germinoma.

Methods: We describe the clinical presentation, diagnostic work-up, management, and clinical course of a patient admitted with SMA syndrome who was subsequently found to have a hypothalamic germinoma.

Results: An adolescent boy was admitted to the surgical ward with progressive weight loss over a 2 year period and postprandial vomiting.