Why is Vitamin D, in it's "usable" form prescribed for kidney disease?
Posted by kureyon
Vitamin D has several slightly different forms. Most vitamin D is made in the skin - you need strong sunlight to do this. But this form of vitamin D is still inactive in the body because it needs two extra modification steps. One of these is in the liver - this converts it into 25-hydroxy vitamin D. Another step is in the kidney, this converts it into 1,25-hydroxy vitamin D, which is the most potent, active form.
People with vitamin D deficiency are usually given 25-hydroxy vitamin D and their kidneys convert it into the active form - this is tightly regulated so the body just makes as much of the active form as it needs. This makes it an easy medication to give - most people can take the same dose and it's not easy to take too much.
But people with kidney disease can't carry out enough of the conversion step in the kidney, so you have to by-pass this step and give them 1,25-hydroxy vitamin D directly. You then have to monitor them to make sure they are getting enough/not getting too much.
Orignal From: Why is Vitamin D, in it's "usable" form prescribed for kidney disease?
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