Adenovirus type 3 (Ad3) isolates, isolated from 45 patients with acute conjunctivitis during the year 1990 in Japan, were studied by DNA restriction enzyme analysis with restriction endonucleases recognizing 6-bp sequences (BamHI, SmaI, HindIII, BglII) and endonucleases recognizing 5- or 4-bp sequences (HinfI and TaqI). All 45 isolates of Ad3 were identified as the genome type Ad3f by six endon...

BACKGROUND The active metabolite (1, 25-dihydroxycholecalciferol) of vitamin D (25-hydroxycholecalciferol) leads to activation of macrophages and deficiency of vitamin D seems to be involved in the risk of tuberculosis. The effects of vitamin D are exerted by interaction with the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and may be influenced by polymorphism in the VDR gene. In this study, variation in the VDR ...

BACKGROUND Inflammation has a key role in migraine pathophysiology. Vitamin D is an effective anti-inflammatory agent. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between migraine and two vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphisms (TaqI and FokI) and also the relationship between VDR polymorphisms and headache severity. METHODS In this case-control study we assessed 103 patients with...

Four VD receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms (TaqI, ApaI, FokI and BsmI) have been reported to influence Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) risk. However, individual studies have produced inconsistent results. We conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of eleven case-control studies to better understand roles of the four polymorphisms in HT development. The results showed only FokI polymorphism was sign...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE Genetic polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene are related to bone mineral density, bone turnover, and diseases with bone loss. Alveolar bone loss is a key feature in periodontitis. The aim of this study was to determine whether severe generalized chronic periodontitis (CP) in a Turkish population was associated with polymorphisms in the VDR gene. METHODS Sa...

The aim of this study was to determine whether vitamin D receptor (VDR) genetic polymorphisms are associated with the susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). MEDLINE and Embase databases and manual literature searches were used. A meta-analysis was conducted on the associations between the VDR FokI, TaqI, BsmI, and ApaI polymorphisms and PTB susceptibility. A total of 16 studies compris...

OBJECTIVE The pathophysiology of neuroleptic malignant syndrome is mainly explained by a central hypodopaminergic state. The familial occurrence of neuroleptic malignant syndrome suggests the involvement of a genetic mechanism in the predisposition to the syndrome. Therefore, the authors examined the association between the TaqI A polymorphism of the dopamine D(2) receptor gene (DRD(2)), which ...

Low levels of plasma vitamin D have been implicated as a possible risk factor for both prostate cancer incidence and advanced disease, and recent phase II trials suggest that vitamin D supplementation might delay progression of prostate cancer. Common polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) are associated with VDR activity and are therefore potentially useful proxies for assessing whether...

BACKGROUND Late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), a genetically heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder, is the most common form of dementia in people over 65 years old. The role of vitamin D in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders such as AD has been supported by epidemiologic investigations and animal models, as well. We examined the association of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene...