[Therapeutic use of vitamin D and its analogues for rickets and osteomalacia].

Recently, It has become clear that the mutant gene in X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets, vitamin D dependent rickets type I, and vitamin D dependent rickets type II were identified and they were caused by the disorder in the activation of vitamin D and the intracellular defect in vitamin D receptor. In this paper, the pathophysiology in various type of rickets or osteomalacia and the treatment by vitamin D agents were reported. So far, 1, alpha-(OH) D3 and 1, 25-(OH)2D3 have been effectively used as the treatment of these disease. However, vitamin D poisoning caused by these agents is still a serious issue for the treatment. In the near future, more effective treatment using genetic engineering is expected to treat the disorder of phosphate metabolism in X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets.