The Structures of Life in PDF Chapter 4: Structure-Based Drug Design: From the Computer to the Clinic In 1981, doctors recognized a strange new disease in the United States. The first handful of patients suffered from unusual cancers and pneumonias.
A recent randomized controlled trial found that vitamin K supplementation in conjunction to vitamin D supplementation reduced the progression of atherosclerosis in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) significantly more so than supplementing with vitamin D alone.
For example, a number of the B vitamins are important for making red blood cells, and metabolism of a variety of compounds during digestion. Others have uses in more specific parts of the body; for example, vitamin A is important for our eyesight, whilst vitamin K plays a major role in the clotting of blood. Similarly, deficiencies of vitamins can also have effects; a lack of vitamin C can lead to scurvy, the bane of sailors before the role of vitamin C was understood. A lack of vitamin K can cause bleeding problems, which is why newborn babies are given a shot containing the vitamin, preventing bleeding on the brain and the subsequent potential brain damage.