Because the newly discovered substance was the fourth vitamin identified, it was called vitamin D. The 1928 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Adolf Windaus, who discovered the steroid 7-dehydrocholesterol, the precursor of vitamin D.
Prior to the fortification of milk products with vitamin D, rickets was a major public health problem. In the United States, milk has been fortified with 10 micrograms (400 IU) of vitamin D per quart since the 1930s, leading to a dramatic decline in the number of rickets cases. Research
Some evidence suggests vitamin D deficiency may be associated with a worse outcome for some cancers, but evidence is insufficient to recommend that vitamin D be prescribed for people with cancer. Taking vitamin D supplements has no significant effect on cancer risk. Vitamin D3, however, appears to decrease the risk of death from cancer but concerns with the quality of the data exist.Vitamin D deficiency is thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.Evidence suggests that vitamin D deficiency may be associated with impaired immune function. Those with vitamin D deficiency may have trouble fighting off certain types of infections. It has also been thought to correlate with cardiovascular disease, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.Review studies have also seen associations between vitamin D deficiency and pre-eclampsia. See also
Hypervitaminosis D
Vitamin D deficiency in Australia

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At birth, infants have relatively high levels of AFP, which fall to normal adult levels by the second year of life. The normal level for AFP in children has been reported as lower than 50 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) and 10 ng/ml in adults. An AFP level greater than 500 ng/ml is a significant indicator of hepatoblastoma. AFP is also used as an indicator of treatment success. If treatments are successful in removing the cancer, the AFP level is expected to return to normal. Treatment
Surgical removal of the tumor, neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to tumor removal, and liver transplantation have been used to treat these cancers. Primary liver transplantation provides high, long term, disease-free survival rate in the range of 80%, in cases of complete tumor removal and adjuvant chemotherapy survival rates approach 100%. The presence of metastases is the strongest predictor of a poor prognosis. References
External links
humpath #2775 (Pathology images)