 |
Antarctic expeditioners assist bone loss study
1 April 2008
A study by the Australian Antarctic Division's Polar Medicine Unit and the University of Melbourne / Austin Health will help not only future Antarctic expeditioners, but other people at risk of vitamin D deficiency.
Research has determined that it takes Antarctic expeditioners just a few months to become vitamin D deficient unless they have normal to high levels of the vitamin to begin with. After twelve months this deficiency begins to affect the rate that bone is broken down and replaced, resulting in a small net loss in bone density. This information will be of particular help to nursing home residents or others with limited access to sunlight as researchers hope to unravel the role played by the vitamin in maintaining the skeleton.
The next step in the study is to determine the minimal dose of vitamin D supplementation that will prevent deficiency, which is caused by a lack of exposure to sunlight or dietary sources.
Links
|
