Vitamin A is an essential nutrient in the diet for the maintenance of normal growth, cellular differentiation, vision, skin, immune response, reproduction and embryonic development. Natural forms of vitamin A are retinol, retinal and retinoic acid. Both suboptimal and excessive vitamin A intake are associated with a number of serious health conditions. Suboptimal vitamin A intake, particularly in children, remains an important international health concern. On the other hand, there has been substantial interest in the application of both retinol and retinoic acid and their synthetic analogs (retinoids) for the treatment of a number of health conditions including several different types of cancer and a variety of dermatological conditions. This presentation will discuss vitamin A nutrition, metabolism and function in human health and disease along with current therapeutic applications of vitamin A and several synthetic retinoids.
Contact: Dr. Lakshmi Atchison, Professor of Biology and Director of Biomedical Lecture Series
215.248.7159 or latchiso@chc.edu
