Published in:
Open Access
01-09-2017
Sunshine vitamin and thyroid
Authors:
Immacolata Cristina Nettore, Luigi Albano, Paola Ungaro, Annamaria Colao, Paolo Emidio Macchia
Published in:
Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders
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Issue 3/2017
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Abstract
Vitamin D exerts its canonical roles on the musculoskeletal system and in the calcium/phosphorus homeostasis. In the last years, increasing evidences suggested several extra-skeletal actions of this hormone, indicating that vitamin D may produce effects in almost all the body tissues. These are mediated by the presence of vitamin D receptor (VDR) and thanks to the presence of the 1-α-hydroxylase, the protein that converts the 25-hydroxyvitamin (calcidiol) to the active form 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin (calcitriol). Several studies evaluated the possible role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of thyroid diseases, and this review will focus on the available data of the literature evaluating the association between vitamin D and thyroid function, vitamin D and autoimmune thyroid diseases, including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Graves’ disease and post-partum thyroiditis, and vitamin D and thyroid cancer.