Current events and projects
Subclinical vitamin K deficiency is prevalent among renal transplant recipients and is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the association between vitamin K supplementation and improvement of arterial stiffness has not been explored in the renal transplant…
Background: Vascular calcifications are highly prevalent in hemodialysis patients. Dephosphorylated-uncarboxylated MGP (dp-ucMGP) was found to increase in vitamin K-deficient patients and may be associated with vascular calcifications. Supplementation of hemodialysis patients with vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7) has been studied in Europe…
Observational data suggest a link between menaquinone (MK, vit- amin K2) intake and cardiovascular (CV) health. However, MK inter- vention trials with vascular endpoints are lacking. We investigated long-term effects of MK-7 (180 μg MenaQ7/day) supplementation on arterial stiffness in…
Vitamin K's recommended dietary allowance (RDA) is based on the hepatic requirement for clotting factor synthesis, but substantial concentrations of undercarboxylated extra-hepatic Gla-proteins are found in the circulation of non-supplemented individuals. This suggests that vitamin K intake above the RDA…
Summary We have investigated whether low-dose vitamin K2 supplements (menaquinone-7, MK-7) could beneficially affect bone health. Next, to an improved vitamin K status, MK-7 supplementation significantly decreased the age- related decline in bone mineral density and bone strength. Low-dose MK-7…
Vitamin K is required for the carboxylation of Gla-proteins in the liver (coagulation factors) and extra-hepatic tissues, such as bone (osteo- calcin, OC), and arterial wall (matrix Gla-protein, MGP). Although the coagulation factors are essentially fully carboxylated under normal conditions,…