The growing incidence of prediabetes and clinical type 2 diabetes, in part characterised by insulin resistance, is a critical health problem with consequent devastating personal and health-care costs. Vitamin D status, assessed by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, is inversely associated with diabetes in epidemiological studies. Several clinical intervention studies also support that vitamin D, or its active metabolite 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH) 2 D), improves insulin sensitivity, even in subjects with glucose metabolism parameters classified within normal ranges. The mechanisms proposed which may underlie this effect include potential relationships with improvements in lean mass, regulation of insulin release, altered insulin receptor expression and specific effects on insulin action. These actions may be mediated by systemic or local production of 1,25(OH) 2 D or by suppression of parathyroid hormone, which may function to negatively affect insulin sensitivity. Thus, substantial evidence supports a relationship between vitamin D status and insulin sensitivity; however, the underlying mechanisms require further exploration. Vitamin D: Diabetes: Insulin sensitivity: Insulin resistanceThe reported incidence of diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate. The WHO estimates that more than 180 million individuals worldwide have diabetes and that 1·1 million died from diabetes in 2005 (1) . Further, the WHO estimates that this number is likely to more than double by 2030 (1) . The rate of change in incidence of insulin resistance and diabetes cannot be accounted for by shifts in population demographics, which suggests that lifestyle choices, rather than differences in genetics, are a primary contributor. Unfortunately, the dramatic rise in the prevalence of diabetes in this decade is likely to continue given the number of Americans with prediabetes and given that current recommendations for prevention are either ineffective or are not implemented sufficiently.Several lifestyle factors may play a role in this rapid increase in prediabetes and progression to clinical diabetes. An increase in diabetes has occurred concurrently with an increase in obesity, as the latter is a strong risk factor for diabetes. This relationship may be rooted in the general relationship between energy balance, obesity and diabetes. However, the presence, or absence, of specific dietary factors may also play a role in these diseases. Therefore it is critical to identify factors that influence body weight, factors that are independent of weight that will contribute to the prevention of abnormal glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance to reduce the incidence of diabetes beyond the difficult process of weight loss. It has been proposed that vitamin D may play an important role in the development of insulin resistance and diabetes (2 -4) . Although low vitamin D status is also implicated in the development of type 1 diabetes (or insulin-dependent diabetes) diabetes (5) , the present review will focus on the relationship of vitamin D sta...

Regardless of exercise group assignment, calcium adjusted for energy intake had a negative relationship and vitamin A intake a positive relationship with two year changes in total body weight and body fat in young women aged 18 to 31 years. Thus, subjects with high calcium intake, corrected by total energy intake, and lower vitamin A intake gained less weight and body fat over two years in this randomized exercise intervention trial.

SummaryWe established the role for epigenetics in regulation of NOTCH signaling in breast cancer. This may constitute a common mechanism of activation of oncogenic signals. Our study provides support for epigenetic-targeting strategies in anticancer approaches.

An algorithm was developed to estimate the strength of the femoral neck from data generated by the dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). This algorithm considers shape of the proximal femur as well as cross-sectional moment of inertia (CSMI) in the estimate. Proximal femora (10) from cadavers of white adults and an aluminum step wedge were scanned with the Lunar DPX to validate the calculation of CSMI. After scanning, each femoral neck was sectioned at its narrowest portion for direct measurement of CSMI. Three healthy young women were scanned five times each to evaluate the reproducibility of geometric measurements using DXA. There was a strong linear association between the CSMI measured directly and using DXA in both cadaver bones (r2 = 0.96) and the aluminum step wedge (r2 = 0.99). The coefficient of variation for CSMI from repeated measurements using DXA was less than 3%. This indicates that it is possible to estimate reproducibly the bending rigidity of bone from DXA measurements. The data from 306 normal subjects were analyzed to investigate geometric changes in the femoral neck with age. Although there was no strong correlation between CSMI and age in normal subjects of either sex, safety factor (SF, an index of strength of the femoral neck during walking) and fall index (FI, an index of the strength of the femoral neck during a fall) decrease with age in both sexes. We observed an alteration of the geometric structure of the femoral neck with age that may increase the stress on the femoral neck and decrease SF and FI.