Abstract
THE scientific interest of the work that has been done and is reviewed in the leading article in NATURE of July 29, p. 137, is that it shows that ultra-violet light, acting on the skin, produces by a photochemical reaction a definite substance which circulates in the blood. This substance is able to replace vitamin-A in the food; whether wholly or only partially is not yet certain, although it should not be difficult to decide the question. If the former, it appears that light actually causes the formation of the vitamin, as suggested by Prof. Harden, or at all events some compound closely similar to it. Dr. Rollier finds in his sunlight treatment of tuberculosis that cod-liver oil is quite unnecessary; but, of course, his patients get vitamin-A in butter and so on. In rickets, vitamin-A can apparently be reduced to a very small amount if there is plenty of sunlight, but it is uncertain whether the vitamin can completely replace sunlight.
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BAYLISS, W. The Cause of Rickets. Nature 110, 212 (1922). https://doi.org/10.1038/110212a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/110212a0
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