An Appraisal to Address Health Consequences of Vitamin D Deficiency With Food Fortification and Supplements: Time to Act!

A symposium entitled "Vitamin D in Prevention and Therapy" was held on May 4-5, 2022, in Homburg, Germany to discuss important new advances in the field, including identification of new vitamin D signaling pathways, of new biologic effects of vitamin D-compounds (e.g., on the microbiome), and convincing proof of the relevance of vitamin D deficiency for the risk and outcome of many chronic diseases, including cancer, cardio-vascular, auto-immune, metabolic, and infectious diseases.

Immunological Biomarkers in Blood to Monitor the Course and Therapeutic Outcomes of COVID-19.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a great challenge to the medical community because little is known about its clinical course, therapeutic options, and laboratory monitoring tools for diagnosis, prognosis, and surveillance. This review focuses on immune biomarkers that can be measured in peripheral blood in a clinical laboratory under routine conditions to monitor the innate immune system response in the acute phase, as well as the adaptive immune response established both after infection and vaccination.

Methods: A PubMed search was performed covering January 2020 to June 2021 to extract biomarkers suitable for monitoring the immune response and outcome of COVID-19 and therapeutic interventions, including vaccination.

Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Drug Monitoring of Direct-Acting Oral Anticoagulants: Where Do We Stand?

For decades, oral anticoagulation has been based on vitamin K antagonist such as warfarin, which requires pharmacodynamic (PD) drug monitoring to guide the therapy. The drug effect is measured by the clotting test prothrombin time and expressed as international normalized ratio. New direct oral anticoagulants are increasingly used in fixed-dose regimens but are licensed without any therapy monitoring.

Vitamin D testing and treatment: a narrative review of current evidence.

Vitamin D testing and treatment is a subject of controversial scientific discussions, and it is challenging to navigate through the expanding vitamin D literature with heterogeneous and partially opposed opinions and recommendations. In this narrative review, we aim to provide an update on vitamin D guidelines and the current evidence on the role of vitamin D for human health with its subsequent implications for patient care and public health issues. Vitamin D is critical for bone and mineral metabolism, and it is established that vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets and osteomalacia.

Solarium Use and Risk for Malignant Melanoma: Meta-analysis and Evidence-based Medicine Systematic Review.

Background: There is an ongoing debate whether solarium use (indoor tanning/artificial UV) may increase the risk for primary cutaneous malignant melanoma.

Aim: A systematic literature search was conducted using MEDLINE and ISI Web of Science. Included studies were critically assessed regarding their risk of bias, and methodological shortcomings.

Severe hypertriglyceridemia in a patient heterozygous for a lipoprotein lipase gene allele with two novel missense variants.

Rare monogenic hyperchylomicronemia is caused by loss-of-function mutations in genes involved in the catabolism of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, including the lipoprotein lipase gene, LPL. Clinical hallmarks of this condition are eruptive xanthomas, recurrent pancreatitis and abdominal pain. Patients with LPL deficiency and severe or recurrent pancreatitis are eligible for the first gene therapy treatment approved by the European Union.

High-sensitivity troponin T improves the prognostic value of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide in patients with stable coronary artery disease: results from the LURIC Study.

Background: Cardiac troponin T is an established prognostic marker in patients with acute coronary syndromes, but not in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) like N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). We examined the additive prognostic value of a high-sensitivity troponin T (hsTnT) assay to predict adverse clinical outcomes in stable CAD.

Methods: A retrospective nested case-control analysis of 256 patients with stable CAD who participated in the LURIC study: 128 cases who died from cardiovascular causes during a median follow-up of 7.