Vitamin D and the Liver—Correlation or Cause?
1
Centre for Diabetes, Obesity & Endocrinology, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR), Westmead, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia
2
The Garvan Institute of Medical Research, The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
3
Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nutrients 2018, 10(4), 496; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10040496
Received: 15 March 2018 / Revised: 9 April 2018 / Accepted: 11 April 2018 / Published: 16 April 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Changing Times for Vitamin D and Health)
Vitamin D is becoming increasingly accepted as an important physiological regulator outside of its classical role in skeletal homeostasis. A growing body of evidence connects vitamin D with hepatic disease. This review summarises the role of vitamin D in liver homeostasis and disease and discusses the therapeutic potential of vitamin D-based treatments to protect against hepatic disease progression and to improve response to treatment. While pre-clinical experimental data is promising, clinical trials around liver diseases have mostly been under-powered, and further studies will be required to clarify whether vitamin D or vitamin D analogues have beneficial effects on liver disease.
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Keywords:
vitamin D; VDR; liver fibrosis; NAFLD
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MDPI and ACS Style
Keane, J.T.; Elangovan, H.; Stokes, R.A.; Gunton, J.E. Vitamin D and the Liver—Correlation or Cause? Nutrients 2018, 10, 496.
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