Themed collection The health benefits of UV radiation exposure through vitamin D production or non-vitamin D pathways
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Introduction to the themed issue ‘The health benefits of UV radiation exposure through vitamin D production or non-vitamin D pathways’
Sun exposure stimulates vitamin D production in addition to several immunomodulatory pathways. Fifteen perspectives in this themed issue aim to distinguish the contribution of vitamin D-dependent and independent pathways, initiated by UV radiation exposure, to beneficial health outcomes.
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 281-282
https://doi.org/10.1039/C7PP90005H
Sunlight exposure is just one of the factors which influence vitamin D status
Studies on the determinants of vitamin D status have tended to concentrate on input – exposure to ultraviolet B radiation and the limited sources in food.
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 302-313
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00329J
The role of UV radiation and vitamin D in the seasonality and outcomes of infectious disease
Individual components of solar radiation, UVA, UVB and heat generation, are linked to their downstream immune functions, inducing vitamin D production, demonstrating a great degree of overlap between various components.
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 314-338
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00355A
Challenge and perspective: the relevance of ultraviolet (UV) radiation and the vitamin D endocrine system (VDES) for psoriasis and other inflammatory skin diseases
Focussing on the UV induced cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D, this review gives an update on the relevance of the VDES and of UV radiation for the management of psoriasis and other inflammatory skin diseases.
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 433-444
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00280C
ASTHMA – comparing the impact of vitamin D versus UVR on clinical and immune parameters
Asthma is estimated to affect more than 300 million individuals worldwide. Vitamin D is increasingly believed to beneficially influence asthma incidence and control, likely due to effects on innate and adaptive immunity. The primary mechanism for increasing vitamin D in the body is via UVB radiation of skin, however whether UVB has comparable effects to vitamin D on relevant immune mechanisms and asthma is unclear.
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 399-410
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00407E
The health benefits of UV radiation exposure through vitamin D production or non-vitamin D pathways. Blood pressure and cardiovascular disease
UV photoreduces nitrogen oxides sequestered in the skin. The resulting NO moves to the systemic circulation where it vasodilates and lowers BP.
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 374-380
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00336B
Ultraviolet radiation, vitamin D and the development of obesity, metabolic syndrome and type-2 diabetes
Obesity prevalence is increasing around the world; however, the causes are not known. Here, we discuss moderate sun exposure as a potential modifier of obesity and metabolic dysfunction, with a focus on sun-induced mediators such as vitamin D and nitric oxide.
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 362-373
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00274A
The relationship between sun exposure and all-cause mortality
Women with low sun exposure are at a dose-dependently increased risk of all-cause mortality, mainly due to an increased risk of death from cardiovascular or noncancer/noncardiovascular disease compared higher exposure.
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 354-361
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00316H
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Are low sun exposure and/or vitamin D risk factors for type 1 diabetes?
Ultraviolet radiation and vitamin D, with their known immunosuppressive effects, have the potential to delay or inhibit type 1 diabetes.
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 381-398
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00294C
A short history of phototherapy, vitamin D and skin disease
The earliest record between sun exposure and skin disease goes back five millennia to the ancient Egyptians. Cod liver oil was a folk remedy prior to 1789 and with the observation that sunlight prevented the “appearance of mycelial fungi” in 1877 the modern era commenced with the treatment of cutaneous Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 283-290
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00406G
UVB radiation, vitamin D and multiple sclerosis
Acheson et al. (1960) observed an inverse relationship between sunlight exposure and the incidence of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 411-415
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00308G
Does sunlight protect us from cancer?
The Ultraviolet (UV) radiation contained in sunlight is a powerful mutagen and immune suppressant which partly explains why exposure to solar UV is the biggest risk factor for the development of cutaneous tumours.
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 416-425
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00332J
Time outdoors, blood vitamin D status and myopia: a review
Myopia is a major public health concern throughout the world but whether vitamin D played a role in myopia development remains unknown.
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 426-432
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00292G
Lung development
Recent equivocal results in high profile randomised controlled trials suggest that the impact of vitamin D deficiency on lung development is complex. In this narrative review we summarise our current understanding of the link between UV exposure, vitamin D and lung development.
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 339-346
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00278A
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UVR: sun, lamps, pigmentation and vitamin D
Exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) has important and significant consequences on human health.
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 291-301
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00277C
The role of UVR and vitamin D on T cells and inflammatory bowel disease
Vitamin D/UVR effects on T cells that are important in the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017,16, 347-353
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PP00266H
About this collection
This issue of Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences contains 15 perspectives that seek to distinguish the contribution of vitamin D-dependent and vitamin D-independent pathways, initiated by UV radiation exposure, to beneficial health outcomes.
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