Michael F. Holick
Michael F. Holick (* 1946) is an American physician and biochemist. His research focus is in the vitamin D research. Holick identified both calcidiol, the major circulating form of vitamin D, and calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D. His scientific work was the basis for new diagnostics and therapeutics for vitamin D -associated diseases.
Professional Activities
After his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry and the medical degree he led a Research Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, by. His specialty training ( residency ) in Internal Medicine completed Holick at Massachusetts General Hospital ( University Hospital of Harvard Medical School ) in Boston.
He is an endocrinologist and professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics and director of the Bone Health Care Clinic and the Helio Therapy, Light, and Skin Research Center at Boston University Medical Center. He provides extensive evaluation ünd treatment programs for children and adults with various metabolic bone diseases including osteoporosis, osteomalacia, stress fractures in young athletes and non-traumatic fractures in children and in patients with hypermobility syndrome, osteogenesis imperfeci and Ehlers -Danlos syndrome, at. In addition, he spent several years as Director of the General Clinical Research Unit at Boston University.
Michael F. Holick takes various management positions, including the NASA / Chair Standing Review Panel - Human Research Program, NIDDK Special Emphasis Panel Chair Review Meeting, Chair Endocrine Practice Guidelines Committee for vitamin D, and is Editor -in - Chief of the Journal of Clinical Laboratory.
Scientific achievements and research results
Holick made important discoveries in the field of vitamin D, which led to new treatments for disorders of bone metabolism, hypocalcemic disorders and psoriasis. His scientific work aroused and increased the awareness of the medical profession regarding the vitamin D deficiency pandemic and the health consequences of vitamin D deficiency.
Show His research shows that vitamin D deficiency in adults plays a role not only in the development of metabolic bone disease and osteoporosis, but also the risk of children and adults for common cancers, autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes mellitus and multiple sclerosis, as well as heart disease increases,
As a graduate student he identified the major circulating form of vitamin D, 25 - hydroxycholecalciferol ( calcidiol ), which is measured to determine the vitamin D status of a patient, and identified the active form of vitamin D, 1α ,25- dihydroxycholecalciferol ( calcitriol ), as well as other metabolites, including 24,25- dihydroxyvitamin D3 1,24,25 - trihydroxyvitamin D3 and 25,26 - dihydroxyvitamin D3.
As a Fellow, he participated in the first chemical synthesis of calcitriol and 1α - hydroxyvitamin D3, which was the first time for the treatment of renal osteodystrophy, the hypoparathyroidism, vitamin D - dependent rickets type I and osteoporosis Uses. He also clarified the pathophysiology of hereditary vitamin D- dependent rickets, which is a disturbed vitamin D metabolism is based., As well as the pathophoyiologischen mechanisms of X -linked Hypophosphatmetischen Rickets ..
Michael F. Holick helped develop the first clinical assays for calcidiol and calcitriol with and showed how vitamin D3 is synthesized in the skin by sun exposure and determined, as the season, time of day, skin pigmentation, use of sunscreen, and the latitude of these vital skin process influence. He noted that the skin is the only organ not only the vitamin D produced, but also a target tissue for the active form of vitamin D, calcitriol, is. He determined that ultra- inhibitory effects of calcitriol on the proliferation of keratinocytes and the beneficial effects on the differentiation and continued at this observation by showing that topical application of calcitriol and several of its analogs were safe and effective in the treatment of psoriasis.
He showed that macrophages and prostate cells have the enzymatic equipment to produce calcitriol and showed that the extrarenal production of calcitriol may play a crucial role not only in cancer prevention but also in the regulation of the immune system.
He developed a vitamin D- absorption test, and demonstrated that vitamin D is bioavailable in orange juice, resulting in the accumulation of orange juice in the United States. He used this test as well, to show that the main reason for vitamin D deficiency in obesity lies in the sequestration of vitamin D in adipose tissue.
He helped to carry out dose-escalation studies with vitamin D and realized how much vitamin D is needed to maintain blood levels of calcidiol in adults in the normal range; It was also found that not accompanied up to 10,000 IU vitamin D per day for months with toxicity.
Reception
In magazines and journals his works were read and written to.
Awards
Holick was honored for his achievements in the field of vitamin D research with numerous awards, including the Merit Award from the National Institutes of Health, the First ASBMR Fuller Albright Award, the Mead Johnson Award, the Osborne and Mendel Award, the McCollum Award, the Robert H. Herman Award from the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, the ACN Award of the American College of Nutrition, the NIH 's General Clinical Research Center 's Program Award for Excellence in Clinical research, the psoriasis research Achievement Award from the American Skin Association, the DSM innovation Award in Nutrition, Van Slyke Award from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, the Linus Pauling Prize in the Human Nutrition Delbert A Fisher research Scholar Award from the Endocrine Society and the American College of Nutrition's Communication Media Award.
Publications
He is the author of more than 400 scientific publications on the biochemistry, physiology, metabolism, and photobiology of vitamin D and the pathophysiology of vitamin D deficiency, including
- Vitamin D deficiency. In: The New England journal of medicine. Volume 357, Number 3, July 2007, pp. 266-281, doi: 10.1056/NEJMra070553. PMID 17,634,462th
- Fortification of orange juice with vitamin D: a novel approach for enhancing vitamin D nutritional health. In: The American journal of clinical nutrition. Volume 77, Number 6, June 2003, pp. 1478-1483, PMID 12,791,627th
- Efficacy and safety of topical calcitriol ( 1,25- dihydroxyvitamin d3) for the treatment of psoriasis. In: The British journal of dermatology. Volume 134, Number 2, February 1996, pp. 238-246, PMID 8,746,336th
- Age, vitamin D, and solar ultraviolet. In: Lancet. Volume 2, Number 8671, November 1989, pp. 1104-1105, PMID 2,572,832th
- Photosynthesis of previtamin D3 in human skin and the physiologic Consequences. In: Science. Volume 210, Number 4466, October 1980, pp. 203-205, PMID 6,251,551th
- Isolation and identification of 25 - hydroxycholecalciferol from human plasma. In: Archives of Internal Medicine. Volume 129, Number 1, January 1972, pp. 56-61, PMID 4,332,591th
- Isolation and identification of 1,25- dihydroxycholecalciferol. A metabolite of vitamin D active in intestine. In: Biochemistry. Volume 10, Number 14, July 1971, pp. 2799-2804. PMID 4,326,883th
He wrote several books on the subject, in which he emphasized the importance of vitamin D and its numerous health-promoting effects and known to the general public made and discussed the benefits of moderate and the risks of excessive sun exposure.
Books (selection)
- UV Advantage. IBooks, 2nd edition, 2005, ISBN 978-1-59687-900-3.
- Nutrition and Bone Health ( Nutrition and Health ). Humana Press, 2010, ISBN 978-1-61737-451-7, Reprint of the edition of 2004.
- Vitamin D: Physiology, Molecular Biology, and Clinical Applications. Humana Press, 2nd edition, 2010, ISBN 978-1-60327-300-8.
- The Vitamin D Solution: A 3 -Step Strategy to Cure Our Most Common Health Problems. Plume, 2011, ISBN 978-0-452-29688-6.