Vitamin D deficiency is associated with tibial bone pain and tenderness. A possible contributive role

The levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D, parathyroid hormone, calcitonin and lipid profiles in patients with calcaneal spur

Objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate the 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), parathyroid hormone (PTH), and calcitonin levels and lipid profiles in patients with calcaneal spurs.

Patients and methods

Between March 2018 and June 2019, a total of 50 patients (30 males, 20 females; mean age: 39.8±8.1 years; range, 24 to 54 years) admitted to our clinic with heel pain and diagnosed with heel spurs based on radiographic images were included. The control group consisted of 50 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers (32 males, 18 females; mean age: 35.7±9.6 years; range, 20 to 56 years). Blood samples were collected from all participants. Total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride, phosphate, and calcium levels were measured using the colorimetric method. The PTH and 25(OH)D levels were measured using the chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. Calcitonin levels were detected using the chemiluminescent immunometric assay.

Results

In the patients with calcaneal spurs, 25(OH)D and HDL-C levels were significantly lower (p<0.001), while LDL-C, triglyceride, and PTH levels were significantly higher (p<0.05, p<0.002 and p<0.001, respectively). There was no significant difference in the calcium, phosphate, body mass index, and calcitonin levels between the groups.

Conclusion

Our study results suggest that calcaneal spur formation is associated not only with weight-related pressure, but also with lipid levels and hormonal alterations involved in calcium metabolism. Based on these findings, hormonal alterations and lipids should be considered in patients with calcaneal spurs.

Nociception: the roles of vitamin D

Objective: to carry out a systematic computer-assisted analysis of scientific literature on on the relationships between the effects of vitamin and nociception (including the impact of vitamin D deficiency on the development of pain syndrome.

Material and methods. For the query “(pain OR nociception) AND (vitamin D OR cholecalciferol OR VITD OR CALCITRIOL OR HYDROXYVITAMIN OR DIHYDROXYVITAMIN OR ALPHACALCIDOL)", 2318 references, including 77 references on alpha-calcidol, were found in the biomedical publications database PubMed. The computer-assisted analysis of this array of publications was carried out using the current big data analysis methods developed within the topological and metric approaches to recognition/classification problems.

Result and discussion. A systematic computer-assisted text analysis of 2318 studies on the relationships between nociception and vitamin D showed that the analgesic effects of the vitamin are by anti-inflammatory action and the regulation of serotonergic, dopaminergic, and opioidergic neurotransmission. The lower blood levels of the major vitamin D metabolite 25 (OH)D is a risk factor for decreased pain threshold in myalgia, fibromyalgia, arthralgia, dorsalgia, and a number of neuralgias.

Conclusion. In patients with impaired renal conversion of active vitamin D metabolites (especially in the elderly), the efficacy of cholecalciferol-based drugs is reduced, which makes it necessary to use the active forms of vitamin D.

Prolonged 25-OH Vitamin D Deficiency Does Not Impair Bone Mineral Density in Adult Patients With Vitamin D 25-Hydroxylase Deficiency (CYP2R1)

Vitamin D-dependent rickets type 1B (VDDR1B) is an autosomal semidominant genetic disorder caused by a deficiency in CYP2R1, which encodes vitamin D 25-hydroxylase, an enzyme that plays a crucial role in the conversion of vitamin D to 25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃. VDDR1B is a severe form of rickets that occurs during infancy and which is responsive to 25-OH vitamin D supplementation. We studied three adult patients from a multi-consanguineous family with VDDR1B. They have been diagnosed with pseudo-nutritional rickets and treated during their adolescence with 25-OH vitamin D. These patients stopped their treatments at the end of adolescence and were contacted 14 to 17 years later when VDDR1B diagnosis was carried out in their niece and nephews. These three patients had undetectable 25-OH vitamin D, but normal levels of plasma 1-25(OH)₂ vitamin D. All patients had a hip bone mineral density and a normal vertebral despite osteoarthritis degenerative lesions which may impact BMD evaluation. These findings show that vitamin D supplementation has a questionable effect, if any, for osteoporosis prevention in adulthood in contrast to its crucial importance during infancy and adolescence.

Therapeutic and Preventive Potential of Vitamin D Supplementation in Knee Osteoarthritis

Objective

Vitamin D deficiency is linked with pain, function, and radiographic progression of knee osteoarthritis (KOA), but the results of studies addressing the association and effect of vitamin D supplementation for pain, function, quality of life, radiographic disease, and progression are inconsistent. The aim of this review is to determine the therapeutic and preventive potential of vitamin D supplementation in KOA.

Method

Eligible pertinent English language studies published in 2000 and thereafter in Medline/PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were selected by using keywords that include “knee osteoarthritis,” “vitamin D supplementation,” “pain,” “structural abnormalities,” “treatment,” and “progression.”

Results

The results of a few studies showed a preventive potential for vitamin D in KOA, but most of the randomized clinical trials that assessed the therapeutic efficacy of vitamin D supplementation in KOA found no clear therapeutic effect, with the exception of one study that found a small but significant effect of vitamin D on pain and knee function. Nonetheless, the results of a few longitudinal studies as well as systematic reviews are promising and thus encourage further studies. Inconsistent results on the effect of vitamin D on KOA may be attributed to factors such as severity of KOA, baseline level of serum vitamin D, duration of treatment, and vitamin D dosages.

Conclusion

Given the multiple skeletal and extraskeletal benefits of vitamin D supplementation in elderly people, the issue of vitamin D supplementation in KOA requires further study to elucidate the dosage and duration of treatment that provides the most effective therapeutic effect.