Bone mineral density in response to two different regimes in rickets

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Endocrinology
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Nutritional rickets, specifically vitamin D deficient rickets (VDR), is a significant concern in infants.
• Assessing optimal treatment strategies for VDR is crucial for proper bone development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of two distinct oral vitamin D3 treatment regimens in infants diagnosed with VDR.
• To evaluate the impact of these regimens on bone mineral density (BMD).

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving 20 infants with VDR, divided into two groups.
• Group 1 received a single 600,000 IU oral dose of vitamin D3.
• Group 2 received 20,000 IU of oral vitamin D3 daily for 30 days.
• Lumbar spine BMD was measured before treatment and on day 31 post-initiation.

Main Results:

• Both treatment regimens led to statistically significant increases in BMD in both groups (P = 0.005 for Group 1, P = 0.047 for Group 2).
• The magnitude of BMD increase was comparable between the single high-dose and daily low-dose vitamin D3 groups (P = 0.096).

Conclusions:

• The study suggests that both a single high-dose (600,000 IU) and a 30-day daily low-dose (20,000 IU/day) regimen of oral vitamin D3 are similarly effective in improving bone mineral density in infants with VDR.
• These findings indicate flexibility in treatment approaches for nutritional vitamin D deficient rickets regarding vitamin D dosing.