[iko (OP)]

from: Norwegian Fishing Village Museum
http://www.datadesign.ws/nfmuseum/smithy.htm

COD-LIVER OIL LAMPS

Cod-liver oil lamps are manufactured in the old museum forge, along the lines of the old Nordic cod-liver oil lamps and those found in Nordland from the mid 1800's. The Nordic lamps hang from a wire (or a long hook) attached to the hook on the lamp itself. The Nordland lamps have three wick grooves and require more cod-liver oil than the other type. They can be either be hung up on the wall, or placed on the table.
The cod-liver oil is poured into the upper tray. The slope of the tray can be adjusted by moving the hook along the rail or by placing a suitable object between the table and the lamp. The wick is placed in the tray with the one end in the groove at the front, and can now be lit.

At which point we have "ignited a flame for our ancestors". They did their daily chores in the faint light of these lamps, during the long autumn and winter evenings, for thousands of years.

The flame can be adjusted by pushing or pulling the end of the wick with a stick. If the end of the wick is kept short, the lamp will not smoke or smell. Any cod-liver oil that drips down into the lower tray can be poured back by unhooking the tray.

"...ancient flames to enlight the mistery of leukemia in the new Century..."
iko

[iko (OP)]

The Cod Liver Oil Factory

...Down by the old harbour, near the beach where they used to haul up the boats, you will find the oldest production plant in Å, the cod-liver oil factory. Here, the fish were braced and hung up on the fish racks to dry, or they were split and salted to make klipfish. The roes were salted in enormous German wine vats of oak, and the cod liver was boiled or steamed into cod liver oil.

In the old days, the liver was just left in the vats and the cod liver oil was skimmed off as the liver fermented in the heat of summer. Later, they began to boil the cod liver in iron cauldrons in order to extract a greater yield of valuable cod liver oil. This was done all year round. The stench was rife all over the fishing village. "You can smell money," people said of both this and the smell of dried fish.

The old Norse name for cod liver oil was "lysi" – light, and the oil was actually used to fuel lamps all over Europe. Moreover, it was used for tanning skins, in the manufacture of paint and soap, and lots more. Cod liver oil and stockfish were for centuries Norway’s most valuable commodity.

Every summer, thousands of barrels of cod liver oil were transported on cargo vessels, the so-called "jekt"s, from Lofoten to Bergen and further on to Europe.
Fish, liver and roes, cooked together and referred to as "mølje", have always been an important and healthy part of the coastal people’s diet. Vitamins A and D and the Omega 3 unsaturated fatty acids in the cod liver oil, helped keep people healthy. It was often said that the cod liver oil makers and other people that took a lot of cod liver oil were seemingly never ill.
Medicinal Cod Liver Oil
Pharmacist Peter Møller wanted to introduce more people to the healthy effects of cod liver oil. In 1854, he built a lined cauldron, filled the space between the cauldron and its lining with water, and steamboiled the fresh cod livers. In this way he greatly improved the quality of the oil. The invention of medicinal cod liver oil was honoured with awards at many trade fairs in Norway and abroad.  Later, the cod liver was steamed in conical oak barrels. In order to extract the last remaining drops of precious cod liver oil, the residue of the liver was then squeezed in a liver press before going to the manufacture of cattle feed or fertiliser.

Today, much of the old production equipment can still be seen in the cod liver oil factory at the Norwegian Fishing Village Museum in Å. Cod liver oil is still produced there in the old fashioned manner, and small bottles of it together with cod liver oil lamps are on sale as mementoes from Lofoten.
   

from:  Norwegian Fishing Village Museum
http://www.lofoten-info.no/history.htm#5

ikod

[iko (OP)]

Old News from The New Millennium
 

quote:
Scientists crack cod liver oil secret

Cod liver oil can help arthritis sufferers
Scientists have identified exactly why cod liver oil is effective in easing the pain and inflammation associated with arthritis.
Researchers at Cardiff University have pinpointed unusual fatty acids, called Omega or n-3 fatty acids, as the crucial factor.
These fatty acids are present in fish oils but not other oils common in the diet.
These findings provide some very interesting explanations as to why granny's cod liver oil therapies have some benefits to arthritis sufferers.
Once incorporated into the cells, the fatty acids reduce the activity of enzymes that are responsible for damaging the cells and causing arthritis.
The fatty acids also cause the "switching off" of another recently-discovered enzyme that causes much of the pain and inflammation in arthritis.
Lead researcher Professor Bruce Caterson said: "This is a particularly interesting finding because there is intense activity in the pharmaceutical industry to find specific drug inhibitors of Cyclooxygenase-2."

Pain and inflammation
The fatty acids also switch off the long-term production of other chemicals known as inflammatory cytokines that prolong the pain and inflammation associated with arthritis.
Professor Caterson said: "These findings provide some very interesting explanations as to why granny's cod liver oil therapies have some benefits to arthritis sufferers.
"The good thing about modern day dietary supplements is that fish oil is available in capsules, thus preventing the most obvious deterrent to this treatment - the smell that precedes the terrible taste!"

Dr Madeline Devey, scientific secretary of the Arthritis Research Campaign, said the research was "terrifically exciting".

She said: "Taking fish oil is something that lots of people do because it makes them feel better, but we had had no idea why.

"Any good science that can be thrown at a common self-medication is a really good idea, and it might enable us to manipulate diet in a slightly more rational way than we do at the moment."

Sunday, 16 January, 2000, 01:03 GMT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/604014.stm

ikod

[iko (OP)]

Allow me some Cut & Paste from Physiology & Medicine.

Topic: "Many adults with psychiatric disorders may also have undiagnosed ADHD"
           by Gaia


Let me give my usual codtribution to this topic.
Rough quick search through PubMed database:
ADHD: 11181 citations
ADHD and omega-3: 15 cit.
I chose 2 recent ones for you
To open the discussion.
(I'm afraid I'm not your expert)

ikod

Omega-3 fatty acids in ADHD and related neurodevelopmental disorders.

Richardson AJ.
Dept.Physiology, Human Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, UK.

Omega-3 fatty acids are dietary essentials, and are critical to brain development and function. Increasing evidence suggests that a relative lack of omega-3 may contribute to many psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. This review focuses on the possible role of omega-3 in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and related childhood developmental disorders, evaluating the existing evidence from both research and clinical perspectives. Theory and experimental evidence support a role for omega-3 in ADHD, dyslexia, developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and autism. Results from controlled treatment trials are mixed, but the few studies in this area have involved different populations and treatment formulations. Dietary supplementation with fish oils (providing EPA and DHA) appears to alleviate ADHD-related symptoms in at least some children, and one study of DCD children also found benefits for academic achievement. Larger trials are now needed to confirm these findings, and to establish the specificity and durability of any treatment effects as well as optimal formulations and dosages. Omega-3 is not supported by current evidence as a primary treatment for ADHD or related conditions, but further research in this area is clearly warranted. Given their relative safety and general health benefits, omega-3 fatty acids offer a promising complementary approach to standard treatments.

Int Rev Psychiatry. 2006 Apr;18(2):155-72. Review.

Omega-3 fatty acid status in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Antalis CJ, Stevens LJ, Campbell M, Pazdro R, Ericson K, Burgess JR.
Department of Foods and Nutrition, West Lafayette IN 47909-2059, USA.

Lower levels of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly omega-3 fatty acids, in blood have repeatedly been associated with a variety of behavioral disorders including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The exact nature of this relationship is not yet clear. We have studied children with ADHD who exhibited skin and thirst symptoms classically associated with essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency, altered plasma and red blood cell fatty acid profiles, and dietary intake patterns that do not differ significantly from controls. This led us to focus on a potential metabolic insufficiency as the cause for the altered fatty acid phenotype. Here we review previous work and present new data expanding our observations into the young adult population. The frequency of thirst and skin symptoms was greater in newly diagnosed individuals with ADHD (n = 35) versus control individuals without behavioral problems (n = 112) drawn from the Purdue student population. A follow up case-control study with participants willing to provide a blood sample, a urine sample, a questionnaire about their general health, and dietary intake records was conducted with balancing based on gender, age, body mass index, smoking and ethnicity. A number of biochemical measures were analyzed including status markers for several nutrients and antioxidants, markers of oxidative stress, inflammation markers, and fatty acid profiles in the blood. The proportion of omega-3 fatty acids was found to be significantly lower in plasma phospholipids and erythrocytes in the ADHD group versus controls whereas saturated fatty acid proportions were higher. Intake of saturated fat was 30% higher in the ADHD group, but intake of all other nutrients was not different. Surprisingly, no evidence of elevated oxidative stress was found based on analysis of blood and urine samples. Indeed, serum ferritin, magnesium, and ascorbate concentrations were higher in the ADHD group, but iron, zinc, and vitamin B6 were not different. Our brief survey of biochemical and nutritional parameters did not give us any insight into the etiology of lower omega-3 fatty acids, but considering the consistency of the observation in multiple ADHD populations continued research in this field is encouraged.

Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2006 Oct-Nov;75(4-5):299-308. Epub 2006 Sep 8



...Hey, I just found this in the "Garlic"
   topic, GuestBook of this Forum!

...
A double-sided personality? Schizophrenia? Bipolar disorder?
Who knows...

...do you like seefood?  [] [)]

     
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/BluefinTuna/anchovies.JPG

http://www.jerrycott.com/IntegrativePsychiatry.html

http://jerrycott.com/user/FishBP53.jpg

Not long ago I read that those peculiar omega-3 so good for our brain (EPA & DHA) that
we get from sea creatures, mainly blue-fish, seem to be made by the ocean plankton itself.
Humans and even those fishlets are not able to synthesize them.
It is a wonderful hypothesis: those special unsaturated fatty acids represent a sort of vitamin
for all of us and come directly from where life originated million years ago on this Planet...
Our survival seems to be inevitably bound to the sea and the sunshine.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_x0lygOs8SA4/RnGs4uIIbmI/AAAAAAAAAFw/rDgMbS_bplM/s320/607230~Sunset-Beach-Volleyball-Posters.jpg

Bikod

End of the first CODpage

http://www.lingshu.org/intollera/pesce.gif

iko     

[Grecian]

Interesting info. Iko, thank you.


Love you lots

Helena xx

[iko (OP)]

Hi Hellena (Grecian),
Thank you for appreciating mycod efforts in this topic!
I apologize for my recent compulsive stick-images-here&there mania...
It will go away, I hope.  I know it is a bit childish: I did that with scissors and glue almost half a century ago (what a shame!).
This brand new Forum is too cooool!!!
Ciao

...Talking about absolute perfection!

ikod

Post Scriptum: did you by any chance read the childhood leukemia topic? Any comment about it? thanks.

[iko (OP)]

Cod Liver Oil (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cod_Liver_Oil_%28song%29

Cod Liver Oil was a traditional medicinal drink for a lot of Newfoundlanders that was also made into a song. Cod liver oil in the traditional way of manufacture was sun cured and served in bottles in its raw form. The song was written by Johnny Burke (1851-1930), a balladeer from St. John's, Newfoundland. It has been recorded by the Irish band The Dubliners and by Newfoundland Folk/Rock Band Great Big Sea on their album The Hard and the Easy.

Lyrics
I'm a young married man that is tired of life
Ten years I've been wed to a miserable wife
She does nothing all day but sit down and cry
And prays up to Heaven that soon she will die

Chorus:
Doctor, o doctor, o dear Doctor John
Your cod liver oil is so pure and so strong
I'm afraid of me life, I'll go down in the soil
If me wife keeps on drinking your cod liver oil
Well a friend of my own came to see me one day
He told my darlin' was pining away
He afterwards told me that she would get strong
If only I'd get a bottle from dear Doctor John

Chorus
It was then that I purchased a bottle to try
The way that she drank it you'd think she would die
I bought her another it vanished the same
O me wife she's got cod liver oil on the brain

Chorus
That me wife loves cod liver there isn't a doubt
And a few thousand gallons has made her quite stout
And now that she's stout it's made her quite strong
And now I'm jealous of dear Doctor John

Chorus
My house it resembles a medicine shop
It's covered with bottles from bottom to top
But then in the mornin' the kettle do boil
O you're sure it's singin' of cod liver oil

Chorus  

http://www.k12.nf.ca/stpauls/grassroots/fishery/fishgr/cod.gif

[neilep]

I take this every day !!...and it's a bloody long walk to Norway too !!


 [ Invalid Attachment ]

[iko (OP)]

Good news for cod liver oil fanatics!

Vitamin D intake and the risk for pancreatic cancer in two cohort studies.

Skimmer HG, Michaud DS, Giovannucci E.

Vitamin D and its analogues exhibit potent antitumor effects in many tissues, including the pancreas. Normal and malignant pancreatic tissues were recently shown to express high levels of vitamin D 1-alpha-hydroxylase, which converts circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D to active 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. We examined associations between dietary intake of vitamin D, calcium, and retinol and subsequent risk for pancreatic cancer. We conducted prospective studies in cohorts of 46,771 men ages 40 to 75 years as of 1986 (the Health Professionals Follow-up Study), and 75,427 women ages 38 to 65 years as of 1984 (the Nurses' Health Study), documenting incident pancreatic cancer through the year 2000. Diet was ascertained by semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. We identified 365 incident cases of pancreatic cancer over 16 years of follow-up. Compared with participants in the lowest category of total vitamin D intake (<150 IU/d), pooled multivariate relative risks for pancreatic cancer were 0.78 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.59-1.01] for 150 to 299 IU/d, 0.57 (95% CI, 0.40-0.83) for 300 to 449 IU/d, 0.56 (95% CI, 0.36-0.87) for 450 to 599 IU/d, and 0.59 (95% CI, 0.40-0.88) for >/=600 IU/d (P(trend) = 0.01). These associations may be stronger in men than women. After adjusting for vitamin D intake, calcium and retinol intakes were not associated with pancreatic cancer risk. In two U.S. cohorts, higher intakes of vitamin D were associated with lower risks for pancreatic cancer. Our results point to a potential role for vitamin D in the pathogenesis and prevention of pancreatic cancer.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006 Sep;15(9):1688-95.

http://www.maverickchartersltd.com/images/cape-cod-ma.jpg

[iko (OP)]

Quackery...revisited in 2006!

This comes out crossing "cod liver oil" and Quackery on Google Images!

http://www.lung.ca/tb/images/full_archive/006_codLiverOil.jpg

...Near the beginning of TB treatment in sanatoria, it became known that the sun helped to kill TB bacteria (see heliotherapy). When the Sun's UV rays hit human skin, vitamin D is produced. Naturally, when cod fish were found to be rich in vitamin D, it followed that their oil was sold as "liquid sunshine" (this was a real advertisement in the Valley Echo, March 1944). Cod Liver Oil is still used in "traditional" medicine today, and as an important dietary supplement, but no real evidence exists that it helps to cure tuberculosis.

http://www.lung.ca/tb/tbhistory/treatment/

...NO real evidence? Let's cross quickly "Tuberculosis and vitamin d" on PubMed database...

Toll-like receptor triggering of a vitamin D-mediated human antimicrobial response.

Liu PT, Stenger S, Li H et al.
In innate immune responses, activation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) triggers direct antimicrobial activity against intracellular bacteria, which in murine, but not human, monocytes and macrophages is mediated principally by nitric oxide. We report here that TLR activation of human macrophages up-regulated expression of the vitamin D receptor and the vitamin D-1-hydroxylase genes, leading to induction of the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin and killing of intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We also observed that sera from African-American individuals, known to have increased susceptibility to tuberculosis, had low 25-hydroxyvitamin D and were inefficient in supporting cathelicidin messenger RNA induction. These data support a link between TLRs and vitamin D-mediated innate immunity and suggest that differences in ability of human populations to produce vitamin D may contribute to susceptibility to microbial infection.
Science. 2006 Mar 24;311(5768):1770-3. Epub 2006 Feb 23.

The effect of vitamin D as supplementary treatment
 in patients with moderately advanced pulmonary tuberculous lesion.

Nursyam EW, Amin Z, Rumended CM.
Dept.Int.Med.University of Indonesia-dr.Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta.

AIM: to compare the vitamin D group of pulmonary tuberculosis patients with a placebo group in terms of clinical improvement, nutritional status, sputum conversion, and radiological improvement. METHODS: sixty seven tuberculosis patient visiting the Pulmonary Clinic, of Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, from January 1st to August 31st, 2001 were included in this study. The subjects were randomised to receive vitamin D (0.25 mg/day) or placebo in a double blind method, during the 6th initial week of Tb treatment. The rate of sputum conversion, complete blood counts, blood chemistry as well as radiologic examination were evaluated. RESULTS: there were more male patients than females (39:28), 78.7% were in the productive age group, 71.6% had low nutritional status, 62.4% with low education level, and 67.2% with low income. One hundred percent of the vitamin D group and only 76.7% of the placebo group had sputum conversion. This difference is statistically significant (p=0.002). CONCLUSION: the sputum conversion had no correlation with the hemoglobin level, blood clotting time, calcium level, lymphocyte count, age, sex, and nutritional status. There were more subjects with radiological improvement in the vitamin D group.

Acta Med Indones. 2006 Jan-Mar;38(1):3-5.


Prevalence and associations of vitamin D deficiency in foreign-born persons with tuberculosis in London.
Ustianowski A, Shaffer R, Collin S, Wilkinson RJ, Davidson RN.
Dept.Infect.Trop.Med.- Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3UJ, UK. ustianowski@doctors.org.uk

OBJECTIVES: The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is high amongst foreign-born persons resident in developed countries. Vitamin D is important in the host defence against TB in vitro and deficiency may be an acquired risk factor for this disease. We aimed to determine the incidence and associations of vitamin D deficiency in TB patients diagnosed at an infectious diseases unit in London, UK. METHODS: Case-note analysis of 210 unselected patients diagnosed with TB who had plasma vitamin D (25(OH)D3) levels routinely measured. Prevalence of 25(OH)D3 deficiency and its relationship to ethnic origin, religion, site of TB, sex, age, duration in the UK, month of 25(OH)D3 estimation and TB diagnosis were determined. RESULTS: Of 210 patients 76% were 25(OH)D3 deficient and 56% had undetectable levels. 70/82 Indian, 24/28 East African Asian, 29/34 Somali, 14/19 Pakistani and Afghani, 16/22 Sri Lankan and 2/6 other African patients were deficient (with 58, 17, 23, 9, 6 and 1 having undetectable levels, respectively). Only 0/6 white Europeans and 1/8 Chinese/South East Asians had low plasma 25(OH)D3 levels. Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs all had equivalent rates of deficiency though Hindus were more likely to have undetectable levels (odds ratio 1.87, 95% CI 1.27-2.76). There was no significant association between 25(OH)D3 level and site of TB or duration of residence in the UK. There was no apparent seasonal variation in either TB diagnosis or 25(OH)D3 level. CONCLUSIONS: 25(OH)D3 deficiency commonly associates with TB among all ethnic groups apart from white Europeans, and Chinese/South East Asians. Our data support a lack of sunlight exposure and potentially a vegetarian diet as contributors to this deficiency.

J Infect. 2005 Jun;50(5):432-7.



Those nurses and doctors should be proud and rest in peace.
They gave cod liver oil to their TB patients for years
without any controlled study or scientific evidence,
wisely adopting the old "ex-adjuvantibus" criteria.
They did just the right thing to do in those days
when treatments available were unsatisfactory
and only some patients recovered completely.
Evidence is slowly coming out
more than fifty years later.

ikod

http://www.spassolandia.net/e107_plugins/autogallery/Gallery/Paesaggi/Lago_di_Prali_-_Torino.JPG

http://www.lung.ca/tb/images/full_archive/081_sun_treatment.jpg

Before the availability of drugs that successfully cured the body of tubercular infections, a widely accepted treatment for non-pulmonary tuberculosis was sunbathing. The sun had sometimes been blamed for increased activity in tubercular infection of the lungs and was therefore not used to treat this form of tuberculosis. However, the Sun offered several curative properties to those suffering from other types of tuberculosis. Sun treatment was used in the treatment of tuberculosis of the glands, bones, joints, peritoneum, skin, eyes, genito-urinary tract, and others.

There were several reasons for the prescription of sun treatment to tuberculosis patients. First of all, the sun acts as a bactericide, killing the Tubercular bacillus organisms that cause the disease. Exposure to moderately hot temperatures for extended periods of time is sufficient to kill off these bacteria and clear up infections. Furthermore, ergosterol, present in the skin in converted by the sun’s UV rays into vitamin D, which was thought to do further damage to the TB bacilli.
 
Sunlamps like the ones pictured here were often used to replace natural sunlight in sun-therapy, or "heliotherapy" for tuberculosis (ca. 1925).

      

http://home.tiscalinet.ch/biografien/images/koch.jpg
http://www.lung.ca/tb/images/061_sun_lamps.jpg
http://www.mmaonline.net/Publications/MNMed2005/November/Images/sun.gif

"Il sole dona la vita, il sole se la riprende" M.U. Dianzani 1975.

[moonfire]

Do you think we will ever have a cod liver oil shortage?

[iko (OP)]

http://www.calsdahliapage.net/thumbnails/thmoonfire.jpg

Hi Firemoon!
No idea, no clue about it...but I don't see much of a problem.
I think cod fishlets are still around and the cod industry is actually making some profit out of it.  Quality controls seem to be a 'must' for this type of product, so several companies produce it, test it and distibute all sorts of caps and bottles of flavoured oils. They all seem to do fine to me.
My problem is that - sitting here in front of my PC - I am not able to give 'cod' every day to all the leukemic children in the world. I can only manage to remind my 'little' boy (actually he grew up much taller than his older brother) to take his cod in the evening.
More than seven years have past for our family, and eighteen years from the Shanghai report:
it's just about time to move and tell people around.
Thanks to search engines and this www (what-women-want?). []
Anyway, I'm not too pessimistic about it.
I think I can make it, and I will succeed in the end.
I promise.
It takes time. []
Take care

ikod

[genius91]

you seem to know a lot about cods a. thanks for the info iko

[genius91]

no sorry i haven't had the chance to read it but i will some time []

Ryan

[iko (OP)]

...a highly recodmendable nutrient!

The effect of dietary fish oil on survival
after infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae or Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Thors VS, Thorisdottir A, Erlendsdottir H, Einarsson I, Gudmundsson S, Gunnarsson E, Haraldsson A.
Department of Medicine, University of Iceland, Iceland.

Dietary fish oil is believed to have a beneficial effect in various infections and in autoimmune disorders. This effect may correspond to an altered immune response.
In order to discover whether the effect of dietary fish oil is different in various infections, we studied the survival of mice fed fish oil or corn oil supplemented diets and infected in the lungs with either Klebsiella pneumoniae or Streptococcus pneumoniae. 120 NMRI mice were divided into 4 groups, of which 2 groups were fed a fish oil supplemented diet and 2 a corn oil supplemented diet. After 6 weeks the mice were infected in the lungs with Klebsiella pneumoniae (fish oil groups and corn oil groups) or with Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 3 (both groups). The survival rate was monitored. The experiment was performed twice. The survival of the mice fed fish oil enriched diet and infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae was significantly better compared with the mice fed corn oil enriched diet (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.0013). No difference was found between the mice fed corn oil enriched diet or fish oil enriched diet and infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 3 (p = 0.74 and p = 0.15). Our results indicate that dietary fish oil has a beneficial effect on survival of mice after experimental pneumoniae when infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae, but not after infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 3.

Scand J Infect Dis. 2004;36(2):102-5.

http://www.fooddata.nl/Fooddata_CMS/Database/upload/klebsiella%20pneumoniae.jpg

Quite a good match with the 'historical' piece
you can read free full-text clicking down here:

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/reprint/129/4/783

Vitamin A as "anti-infective" therapy, 1920-1940.

Semba RD.
Dept.Ophthalmol. Johns Hopkins Univ.School of Med., Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.

In the last fifteen years, a large series of controlled clinical trials showed that vitamin A supplementation reduces morbidity and mortality of children in developing countries. It is less well known that vitamin A underwent two decades of intense clinical investigation prior to World War II. In the 1920s, a theory emerged that vitamin A could be used in "anti-infective" therapy. This idea, largely championed by Edward Mellanby, led to a series of at least 30 trials to determine whether vitamin A--usually supplied in the form of cod-liver oil--could reduce the morbidity and mortality of respiratory disease, measles, puerperal sepsis, and other infections. The early studies generally lacked such innovations known to the modern controlled clinical trial such as randomization, masking, sample size and power calculations, and placebo controls. Results of the early trials were mixed, but the pharmaceutical industry emphasized the positive results in their advertising to the public. With the advent of the sulfa antibiotics for treatment of infections, scientific interest in vitamin A as "anti-infective" therapy waned. Recent controlled clinical trials of vitamin A from the last 15 y follow a tradition of investigation that began largely in the 1920s.

1: J Nutr. 1999 Apr;129(4):783-91.


Note:

Fish oil is mainly omega-3 fatty acids.

Fish liver oil is a natural mix of vitamin A, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids.
All these 3 compounds had been studied for their capability of modulating, at
different levels, the basic mechanisms of infection-inflammation and immune response.

ikod  [^] 

     
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r133/lindsayjemerson/pingouin.gif
http://pictures.directnews.org.uk/Live/Photo4001983.jpg

[iko (OP)]

...A massive vitamin D 'tsunami' is coming closer,
spinning out of the scientific literature circuit:
will flu vaccination campaigns be the first casualties?

Epidemic influenza and vitamin D.

Cannell JJ, Vieth R, Umhau JC, Holick MF, Grant WB, Madronich S, Garland CF, Giovannucci E.
Atascadero State Hospital, 10333 El Camino Real, Atascadero, CA 93422, USA.

In 1981, R. Edgar Hope-Simpson proposed that a 'seasonal stimulus' intimately associated with solar radiation explained the remarkable seasonality of epidemic influenza. Solar radiation triggers robust seasonal vitamin D production in the skin; vitamin D deficiency is common in the winter, and activated vitamin D, 1,25(OH)2D, a steroid hormone, has profound effects on human immunity. 1,25(OH)2D acts as an immune system modulator, preventing excessive expression of inflammatory cytokines and increasing the 'oxidative burst' potential of macrophages. Perhaps most importantly, it dramatically stimulates the expression of potent anti-microbial peptides, which exist in neutrophils, monocytes, natural killer cells, and in epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract where they play a major role in protecting the lung from infection. Volunteers inoculated with live attenuated influenza virus are more likely to develop fever and serological evidence of an immune response in the winter. Vitamin D deficiency predisposes children to respiratory infections. Ultraviolet radiation (either from artificial sources or from sunlight) reduces the incidence of viral respiratory infections, as does cod liver oil (which contains vitamin D). An interventional study showed that vitamin D reduces the incidence of respiratory infections in children. We conclude that vitamin D, or lack of it, may be Hope-Simpson's 'seasonal stimulus'.

Epidemiol Infect. 2006 Dec;134(6):1129-40. Epub 2006 Sep 7.




Note: ... Vitamin D deficiency predisposes children to respiratory infections .
from: Rickets Today - Children Still Need Milk and Sunshine

Nicholas Bishop,M.D.  University of Sheffield
...
Rickets may have severe consequences. It is strongly associated with pneumonia in young children in developing countries. In a case–control study at the Ethio-Swedish Children's Hospital in Addis Ababa,3 Muhe and colleagues demonstrated an incidence of rickets among children with pneumonia that was 13 times as high as that among control children, after adjustment for family size, birth order, crowding, and months of exclusive breast-feeding. The relative risk of death for the children with rickets as compared with the children without rickets was 1.7. Furthermore, bony deformity of the pelvis in women leads to obstructed labor and increased perinatal morbidity and mortality.
...
Children in developed countries need calcium, too. There is clear evidence from prospective studies of dietary supplementation that increased calcium intake during childhood results in increased calcium retention and increased bone mass.8 Young adults with a history of greater milk consumption have a higher total-body bone mass than those with lower intake after the influence of body size is taken into account.9 Calcium, vitamin D, and phosphate are essential nutrients for the growing skeleton. Wherever children live, they should follow Grandma's advice: "Drink up your milk, and go play outside."

N.Engl.J.Med. 1999 341(: 602-604.




...odd fever oil!   []

http://mapserver.mnre.go.th/tsunami/images/pic%20tsunami.jpg

[iko (OP)]

http://www.artzooks.com/files/2134/AZ227038_320.jpg

Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated With Low Mood
 and Worse Cognitive Performance in Older Adults.

Wilkins CH, Sheline YI, Roe CM, Birge SJ, Morris JC.

Dept.Med.Div.Geriatrics and Nutritional Science, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, the Dept.Psychiatry, Dept.Neurol., and the Div.Biostatistics, Washington Univ.School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is common in older adults and has been implicated in psychiatric and neurologic disorders. This study examined the relationship among vitamin D status, cognitive performance, mood, and physical performance in older adults.

Methods: A cross-sectional group of 80 participants, 40 with mild Alzheimer disease (AD) and 40 nondemented persons, were selected from a longitudinal study of memory and aging. Cognitive function was assessed using the Short Blessed Test (SBT), Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR; a higher Sum of Boxes score indicates greater dementia severity), and a factor score from a neuropsychometric battery; mood was assessed using clinician's diagnosis and the depression symptoms inventory. The Physical Performance Test (PPT) was used to measure functional status. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured for all participants.

Results: The mean vitamin D level in the total sample was 18.58 ng/mL (standard deviation: 7.59); 58% of the participants had abnormally low vitamin D levels defined as less than 20 ng/mL. After adjusting for age, race, gender, and season of vitamin D determination, vitamin D deficiency was associated with presence of an active mood disorder (odds ratio: 11.69, 95% confidence interval: 2.04-66.86; Wald chi(2) = 7.66, df = 2, p = 0.022). Using the same covariates in a linear regression model, vitamin D deficiency was associated with worse performance on the SBT (F = 5.22, df = [2, 77], p = 0.044) and higher CDR Sum of Box scores (F = 3.20, df = [2, 77], p = 0.047) in the vitamin D-deficient group. There was no difference in performance on the MMSE, PPT, or factor scores between the vitamin D groups.

Conclusions: In a cross-section of older adults, vitamin D deficiency was associated with low mood and with impairment on two of four measures of cognitive performance.

Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2006 Dec;14(12):1032-1040.




Good news for Africa?     

http://www.helpage.org/Worldwide/Africa/Keyprojects/SupportingoldercarersaffectedbyHIVAIDS/main_content/6sMZ?display=large

   

A potential role for vitamin D on HIV infection?

Villamor E.
Dept.Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Despite advances in the knowledge of vitamin D's potent immunomodulatory activity, its role on HIV disease progression is unknown. Decreased concentrations of 1alpha,25-hydroxyvitamin D3, or 1,25(OH)2D, the active form of vitamin D, have been reported among HIV-infected people and attributed to defects in renal hydroxylation and increased utilization. A few studies also described low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, 25(OH)D, the vitamin obtained from solar synthesis and diet. An inverse association between 1,25(OH)2D concentrations and mortality has been reported from a small cohort of HIV-infected adults, and some cross-sectional studies have indicated positive correlations between 1,25(OH)2D and CD4+ cell counts. Additional observational studies are needed to confirm the associations between vitamin D status and HIV disease progression. These investigations would provide useful insights on the potential role of vitamin D supplementation to HIV-infected persons and the planning of intervention trials.

Nutr Rev. 2006 May;64(5 Pt 1):226-33.

[iko (OP)]

Revisiting Vitamin D in humans.
just a few clever minds got this point
first, several years ago...

http://www.seeli.com/Daniel/leisure/travel/Finland/landscape5.jpg

A hypothesis concerning deficiency of sunlight,
cold temperature, and influenza epidemics associated with
the onset of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in northern Finland.

Timonen TT.

University of Oulu, Department of Internal Medicine, Kajaanintie 50, FIN-90220 Oulu, Finland.

Research to detect new factors contributing to the etiology of acute leukemia (AL) is urgently needed. Located between latitudes 65 degrees and 70 degrees north, the population in northern Finland is exposed to extreme seasonal alterations of ultraviolet-B light and temperature. There is also a seasonal variation of both the 25(OH)- and 1,25(OH)2-D3 vitamin serum concentrations. In the present work, the frequencies of different types and age-groups at diagnosis of AL were compared during the dark and light months of the year, to uncover seasonality. Between January 1972 and December 1986, 300 consecutive patients aged >/=16 years and diagnosed as having AL were enrolled. The observed mean monthly global solar radiation, temperature measurements, and influenza epidemics were compared with the monthly occurrence of AL. Both acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (p=0.006) and total AL (p=0.015) were diagnosed excessively in the dark and cold compared with light and warm period of the year. There was a tendency for de novo leukemia to increase also in the dark and cold, but for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients the excess was not significant. Age >/=65 was strongly associated with the dark and cold season (p=0.003). Significantly more ALL (p=0.005) and de novo leukemias (p=0.029) were observed during influenza epidemics than during nonepidemic periods. However, a seasonality, i. e., the fluctuation of numbers of AL cases, was not determined, either monthly or during different photo- and temperature periods or influenza epidemics; this might be due to the small numbers of patients studied. Nevertheless, it is hypothesized that sunlight deprivation in the arctic winter can lead to a deficiency of the 1, 25(OH)2D3 vitamin, which might stimulate leukemic cell proliferation and block cell differentiation through dysregulation of growth factors in the bone marrow stromal cells, causing one mutation and an overt ALL in progenitor cells damaged during the current or the previous winter by influenza virus, the other mutation.

Ann Hematol. 1999 Sep;78(9):408-14.

[iko (OP)]

http://www.intermed.it/shuttle/box1004/app.jpg

Messing with synthetic compounds
instead of the natural recipe
may lead to make wrong deductions
and to realize it many years later:

The case against ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) as a vitamin supplement.

Houghton LA, Vieth R.
School of Nutrition and Dietetics, Acadia University, Wolfville, Canada.

Supplemental vitamin D is available in 2 distinct forms: ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3). Pharmacopoeias have officially regarded these 2 forms as equivalent and interchangeable, yet this presumption of equivalence is based on studies of rickets prevention in infants conducted 70 y ago. The emergence of 25-hydroxyvitamin D as a measure of vitamin D status provides an objective, quantitative measure of the biological response to vitamin D administration. As a result, vitamin D3 has proven to be the more potent form of vitamin D in all primate species, including humans. Despite an emerging body of evidence suggesting several plausible explanations for the greater bioefficacy of vitamin D3, the form of vitamin D used in major preparations of prescriptions in North America is vitamin D2. The case that vitamin D2 should no longer be considered equivalent to vitamin D3 is based on differences in their efficacy at raising serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, diminished binding of vitamin D2 metabolites to vitamin D binding protein in plasma, and a nonphysiologic metabolism and shorter shelf life of vitamin D2. Vitamin D2, or ergocalciferol, should not be regarded as a nutrient suitable for supplementation or fortification.

Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Oct;84(4):694-7.



Comment: (from a reknown website)
http://www.mercola.com/2006/oct/26/beware-of-most-prescription-vitamin-d-supplements.htm

...Supplemental vitamin D comes in two forms: ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3).
They have generally been regarded as equivalent and interchangeable, but that notion is based on studies of rickets prevention in infants conducted seven decades ago.
Recent studies have shown that  vitamin D3 is a more potent form of vitamin D. Vitamin D2 has a shorter shelf life, and its metabolites bind with protein poorly, making it less effective. One unit of cod liver oil (containing vitamin D3) has been shown to be as effective as four units of Viosterol (a medicinal preparation of vitamin D2).
However, the form of vitamin D used in prescriptions in North America is almost invariably vitamin D2.
...

from Dr. Mercola's notes:
Basically there are two types of oral vitamin D supplements. The natural ones are D3, and they contain the same vitamin D your body makes when exposed to sunshine. The synthetic ones are vitamin D2, which are sometimes called ergocalciferol.
Once either form of the vitamin is in your body, it needs to be converted to a more active form. Vitamin D3 is converted 500 percent faster than vitamin D2. Interestingly, it was previously thought that the kidney exclusively performed this function, as least that is what I was taught in med school.
However, in 1998 Dr. Michael Hollick, the person who discovered activated vitamin D, showed that many other cells in your body can make this conversion, but they use it themselves, and it is only the kidney that makes enough to distribute to the rest of your body.
While there have been no clinical trials to date demonstrating conclusively that D2 prevents fractures, every clinical trial of D3 has shown it does.
However, nearly all the prescription-based supplements contain synthetic vitamin D2, which was first produced in the 1920s through ultraviolet exposure of foods. The process was patented and licensed to drug companies for use in prescription vitamins. In case you didn't know, the vitamin D that is added to milk is NOT D3 but the highly inferior vitamin D2.
The study linked above concluded that "vitamin D2 should no longer be regarded as a nutrient appropriate for supplementation or fortification of foods."

That being said, optimizing your sun exposure and levels of vitamin D3 may, indeed, be one of the most important physical steps you can take in support of your long-term health. Conventional medicine is finally beginning to get on board the vitamin-D3 bandwagon, using the natural power of sunshine to treat type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis during a woman's pregnancy and even tuberculosis.
It is important to understand that the ideal and STRONGLY preferred method of increasing your vitamin D3 level is through appropriate sun exposure. I really do not advise oral supplements, not even cod liver oil now, UNLESS you can have your blood levels regularly monitored. 
It just is too risky. I have seen too many potentially dangerous elevations of vitamin D levels, including my own, from those that are taking oral supplements.
But when you get your vitamin D from appropriate sun exposure your body can indeed self-regulate and greatly reduce vitamin D production if you don't need it, which makes it very difficult to overdose on vitamin D from sun exposure.


Even taking for granted that omega-3 and retinol were not needed together with vitamin D, the alternative to cod liver oil for leukemic children would be driving them for a hike in the sunshine three times a week...for at least 5-7 years after diagnosis.
I'd need a big school-bus and sunny days most of the year. I wouldn't be able to retire right now, and they couldn't miss their classes.
Mission Impossible from my point of view (ask Tom Cruise).

These little patients are tough: they could certainly take a risk of a slight vitamin D intoxication...most of the current treatment protocols are far more toxic.
Moderate use of cod liver oil is harmless, actually good for all of us.
It has always been like that.

           
http://www.iclevisaracena.it/images/pullman.gif
http://www.enempo.com/pics/Cod%20Liver%20Oil.jpg

ikod

Addendum:

Vitamin D As Treatment

How much vitamin D should one take if they have cancer? We don't know as the research is far from complete. Although vitamin D may help, it should only be taken in addition to standard cancer treatment. It should not be considered a first, or only, treatment but used in addition to regular chemotherapy or surgery. Oncologists and surgeons work miracles every day. Remember, vitamin D may be toxic in overdose, although one expert recently said, "worrying about vitamin D toxicity is like worrying about drowning when you are dying of thirst". That said, many people think "if a little is good then a lot is better". This is definitely not true about vitamin D.

http://www.vitamindcouncil.com/cancerMain.shtml

...in the meantime, waiting for scientific confirmation, a little bit of 'cod' every day should work just fine. []

Take care

ikod

[iko (OP)]

...little bits from:

http://www.vitamindcouncil.com/

just a 'basic' website for this topic!

http://www.nature.com/news/2002/020107/images/oldwive_160.jpg

Bits Of Wisdom: Those 'old wives' might be on to something

For many years, the "old wives" have been ridiculed as superstitious know-nothings.
Now science seems about to vindicate them.
The old wives maintained that a dose of cod-liver oil would do a body good.
Many children dreaded it because it tasted so awful. But come the dark days of winter, mothers and grandmothers insisted that all family members should hold their noses and swallow a spoonful of cod-liver oil.
During the past 20 years, this practice has gone the way of the manual typewriter.

Few children get cod-liver oil these days.

Doctors don't recommend it because it seems like such an unscientific relic of the past.

The vitamin D that is abundant in cod-liver oil has numerous health benefits though, especially in the winter. That's because levels of vitamin D frequently drop when people are not exposing their skin to the sun.
Cold, dreary weather and diminished sunlight can create borderline vitamin D deficiency in a surprising number of people. In Boston, 42 percent of people studied had too little vitamin D in winter. In Calgary, Canada, almost no one maintains adequate vitamin D in the winter.

In 2005, a psychiatrist who treated his patients for vitamin D deficiency noticed something odd. Influenza hit hard at the Atascadero State Hospital, a maximum-security psychiatric hospital. His ward was spared, with not a single person catching the flu, even though they had been exposed to the virus just like everyone else. The psychiatrist wondered whether the vitamin D he had prescribed had anything to do with their immunity.
This question led to an interesting review of research and a credible hypothesis.
Studies in the past 70 years hint at a connection between vitamin D and overall immunity.

The active form of vitamin D greatly increases the body's production of a natural infection-fighting chemical called cathelicidin. Cathelicidin seems to help fight off illnesses caused by bacteria, fungi and viruses, including influenza.
This might help explain why people are more susceptible to colds and flu in the winter. If their vitamin D levels drop, so does their production of cathelicidin and their overall resistance to infection.

Vitamin D also appears to have anti-cancer activity. People who get regular sun exposure are less susceptible to common cancers that affect the colon, breast, prostate, ovaries and lungs. Even conditions like multiple sclerosis, arthritis and Type 2 diabetes are less common in people with ample vitamin D levels.

Vitamin D has long been associated with stronger bones, but there is also research showing that it contributes to stronger muscles and fewer falls in the elderly.

The old wives did not have sophisticated scientific tools or methods, but they were skilled observers.

It's fascinating when the scientists supply the explanation behind their wisdom.

...

from:  Winston-Salem Journal, Tuesday, November 28, 2006.
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149191909636&path=!living&s=1037645509005

Photograph of Old Wives Lake in scenic Saskatchewan Canada

http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/wetland/n_plains/sk7.jpg