Researchers from University of California, Research Center detail new studies and findings in the area of colitis.(Report)

A report, 'Vitamin D deficiency in mice impairs colonic antibacterial activity and predisposes to colitis,' is newly published data in Endocrinology. "Vitamin D insufficiency is a global health issue. Although classically associated with rickets, low vitamin D levels have also been linked to aberrant immune function and associated health problems such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)," investigators in the United States report (see also Colitis).

"To test the hypothesis that impaired vitamin D status predisposes to IBD, 8-wk-old C57BL/6 mice were raised from weaning on vitamin D-deficient or vitamin D-sufficient diets and then treated with dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) to …