On October 29th, 2017, over 500 healthcare professionals attended a symposium in Amman, Jordan which featured a lecture by guest speaker Dr. Michael F. Holick of Boston University, a renowned endocrinologist and author of the bestselling book “The Vitamin D Solution: A 3-Step Strategy to Cure Our Most Common Health Problems”.
Dr. Holick is considered the world’s foremost authority on Vitamin D and was the first to identify the major circulating form of vitamin D in human blood as 25-hydroxyvitamin D3. He then isolated and identified the active form of vitamin D as 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. He determined the mechanism for how vitamin D is synthesized in the skin, demonstrated the effects of aging, obesity, latitude, seasonal change, sunscreen use, skin pigmentation, and clothing on this vital cutaneous process.
Dr. Holick’s presentation in Amman was a comprehensive overview of recent discoveries that relate to the importance of Vitamin D on the cellular level for so many areas of bodily functioning and for good health. It gave an overview of the sources of vitamin D, and the risks inherent in vitamin D deficiency and how to overcome it.
Two other lectures were presented. The was first by Dr. Basel Masri, Senior Consultant Rheumatologist at Jordan Hospital in Amman, Jordan, and President of the Jordanian Rheumatology Society, about vitamin D inadequacy in the Middle East. The second by Dr. Omar Abu-Hijleh, Senior Consultant Endocrinologist at Jordan Center for Thyroid, Endocrine Diseases and Diabetes at Jordan Hospital Medical Center, and President of the Jordanian Osteoporosis Prevention Society (JOPS), about the application of vitamin D in the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN).
The event was co- hosted by Hayat Pharmaceutical Industries and the Jordanian Osteoporosis Prevention Society (JOPS), and coordinated by Dr. Basel Masri, Senior Consultant Rheumatologist at Jordan Hospital in Amman and President of the Jordanian Rheumatology Society.
