Vitamin D and Sun conference – Germany June 2017

THE JOINT INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIA "VITAMIN D IN PREVENTION AND THERAPY" AND "BIOLOGIC EFFECTS OF LIGHT"
21-23 June, 2017, Schlossberg Hotel, Homburg/Saar, Germany
 Click here to download all of the talks and posters from Vitamin D Life

The following - just one talk and two posters – those which appear to be new, interesting

AVOIDANCE OF SUN EXPOSURE AS A RISK FACTOR FOR MAJOR CAUSES OF DEATH

Pelle G. Lindqvist. Clintec, Karolinska Institut, Huddinge, Sweden
From an evolutionary perspective, there must be an evolutionary selection advantage in having adequately pigmented skin for the regional ultraviolet (UV) radiation. One possible mechanism might be differences in life expectancy; however, there is no such evidence. Based on the large prospective Melanoma in Southern Sweden (MISS) cohort (n=29,518), we assessed differences in life expectancy by sun exposure adjusted for age, income, education, marital status, smoking and comorbidity. Low sun exposure habits were found to be a major risk factor for all-cause mortality. This was caused by an increased risk of death due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and non-cancer/non-CVD. Therefore, due to the increased life span among those with highest sun exposure, this exposure naturally results in an increased prevalence of cancer death. In addition, sun exposure increases the incidence, but is related to better prognosis of skin cancer. The findings indicate that there is a need for modification of guidelines regarding sun exposure.

THE IMPACT OF DOSE, BODY SURFACE AND OTHER FACTORS ON UVB-INDUCED VITAMIN D SYNTHESIS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Nadine Jager1, Jakob Schope2,3, Stefan Wagenpfeil2’3, Peter Bocionek4, Thomas Vogt1 and Jorg Reichrath1
1 Department of Dermatology, The Saarland University Hospital, Homburg, Germany;
2 Institute for Medical Biometry, Epidemiology and Medical Informatics, Saarland University, Campus Homburg, Germany;
3 Center for Clinical and Experimental Photodermatology, The Saarland University Hospital, Homburg, Germany;
4 JW Holding, Stuttgart, Germany

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide health problem. Under most living conditions in Europe and North America, up to 90% of the body’s requirements of vitamin D have to be fulfilled by the ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced cutaneous synthesis of this prohormone. As a consequence, it is of high scientific interest to determine the impact of various factors on UVB-induced cutaneous vitamin D production, measured as serum 25(OH)D3 concentration. Aim: It was the aim of this systematic review and metaanalysis to investigate our present scientific knowledge on this topic. Additionally, the half-life of 25(OH)D3 was estimated.

Materials and Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using MEDLINE and cross-referenced studies to investigate the impact of exposure to artificial UV- sources on vitamin D status. Relevant parameters included 25(OH)D3 serum level before and after exposure, UV source and dose (in standard erythema dose (SED)) and time of exposure. Summary mean differences and 95% confidence intervals were derived from random-effects meta-analysis to account for possible heterogeneity across studies. Results and

Conclusion: We found 15 papers published in the past 7 years. In summary, our study indicates that single doses between 0.75 and 3 SED result in the highest increase in serum 25(OH)D3 per dose unit (SED). Exposure with higher single doses of UVB resulted in less pronounced increases in serum 25(OH)D3 per dose unit. It can be concluded that UVB exposure with single doses between 0.75 and 3 SED are desirable in respect to cutaneous vitamin D synthesis. Interestingly, the increase in 25(OH)D3 serum concentration was not proportional to the amount of exposed body surface. Partial exposure of the body surface resulted in relatively higher increase of 25(OH)D3 serum concentration per SED (AH-25(OH)D/SED/% body surface) as compared to exposure of the whole body. For instance, exposure of face and hands resulted to an 8-fold higher increase in AH-25(OH)D/SED/% body surface as compared to whole body irradiation. Moreover, our results confirm the relevance of the baseline 25(OH)D3 level. The lower the baseline, the higher was the 25(OH)D3 increase after irradiation. In the studies included in this systematic review, the half-life of 25(OH)D3 can be estimated to be about two months.

CAN WE ADAPT THE “COIMBRA-PROTOCOL” (HIGH DOSAGE VITAMIN D CURE OF MS) TO THE TREATMENT OF CANCER AS WELL?

Jorg Spitz1, Angelika Spitz1, Anno Jordan1 and Nils Thoennissen2
1Akademie fur Menschliche Medizin, Schlangenbad/Wiesbaden, Germany;
2Klinik Kloster Paradiese, Soest, Germany
Introduction: Vitamin D is known to play an important role in the development and progress of cancer. In certain types of cancer, the figures of Vitamin D sensitivity go up to as much as 70 to 80%. The reason why the remaining patients do not profit from a sufficient Vitamin D level with regard to cancer is not known.
Thesis: Due to a kind of vitamin D resistance, some patients are not able to overcome the cancer development in their body. In 2016, Carlberg and Haq suggested that the need for vitamin D supplementation depends on the vitamin D status in relation to the personal vitamin D response index of an individual rather than on the vitamin D status alone (1). In addition, Cicero G. Coimbra and his co-workers were able to produce a remission in patients with autoimmune diseases (above all multiple sclerosis (MS) but also vitiligo and psoriasis patients) by applying individual vitamin D doses up to 100,000 IU per day in a large number of cases (2). Putting this information together, it seems justifiable to make a similar approach in cancer patients.
Conclusion: Individual high doses of Vitamin D should be tested as adjuvant therapy with regard to their efficacy not only in autoimmune disease but also in case of cancer.
Carlberg C and Haq A: The concept of the personal vitamin D response index. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol (Published online 26 December 2016). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jsbmb.2016.12.011
Finamor DC, Sinigaglia-Coimbra R, Neves LC, Gutierrez M, Silva JJ, Torres LD, Surano F, Neto DJ, Novo NF, Juliano Y, Lopes AC and Coimbra CG: A pilot study assessing the effect of prolonged administration of high daily doses of vitamin D on the clinical course of vitiligo and psoriasis. Dermatoendocrinol 5(1): 222-234, 2013.

Authors Index (abstract number)

Pilz S., 23 Reichrath J., 24 Rochel N., 25 Roemer K., 26 Saternus R., 52 Schiekofer C., 27 Schope J., 28 Seckmeyer G., 29 Smola S., 30 Spitz J., 53, 54 Tanew A., 31 Thomas C., 55 Thompson P.D., 32 Tyrrell R.M., 33 Vieth R., 34 Volmer D.A., 35 Wesley Pike J., 22 Wissenbach U., 36 Wulf H.C, 37, 38, 39 Zastrow L., 40 Zittermann A. , 41 Zouboulis C.C., 42, 56. Berg K., 1 Bittenbring J.-T., 2 Brenner H., 3 Breunig A., 43 Carlberg C., 4 de Gruijl F.R., 9, 10 Emmert S., 5, 6 Friedrich M., 44, 45, 46, 47 Grant W.B., 7, 8 Holick M.F., 11, 12 Jager N., 48 Jezycki T., 49 Kimball S., 13 Krause R., 14 Lammert F., 15 Lindqvist P.G., 16 Marz W., 17 Merkoureas A., 50 Muralidhar S., 18 Neumann N.J., 19 Newton-Bishop J., 20, 21 Pemsel A., 51