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Vitamin D is an essential micronutrient for humans. Vitamin D functions are not limited to the regulation of bone; it plays many pleiotropic effects due to ubiquitous distribution of VDR (Vitamin D Receptor). The vitamin D deficiency (defined as plasma levels of 25 - OH - vitamin D < 30 ng / ml) is now a public health problem worldwide. It is therefore essential to define protocols for supplementation of vitamin D in the general population and in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease and indications on the use of different Vitamins D available.

Fabry disease is an X-linked lysosomal disease caused by mutations of the alpha-galactosidase A (GLA) gene at chromosome subband Xq22.1. To date, more than 600 genetic mutations have been identified to determine the nature and frequency of the molecular lesions causing the classical and milder variant phenotypes and for precise carrier detection. We report here a Fabry family (mother, son and daughter) where the alpha-galactosidase A defect was associated with a glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. Mutation analysis revealed for the GLA gene the presence of a new mutation, i.e., a small deletion (c.452delA) on exon 3 and for the G6PD gene the presence of 2 mutations, p.V68M (G6PD Asahi, G6PD A+) and p.N126D (G6PD A+) on exon 3 and exon 4, respectively.

Evidence has been accumulating in recent years that chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common disease associated with a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Cardiovascular complications are the leading cause of death in patients with CKD, and the risk of cardiovascular mortality is 10-30-fold higher in dialysis patients than in age-, gender- and race-matched controls. On the basis of this evidence it has been suggested that the cardiovascular risk profile of CKD patients is different from that of the general population, resulting from a complex and peculiar interaction of risk factors. In fact, traditional risk factors such as hypertension, aging, smoking, diabetes, and lipid disorders do not fully explain the high frequency of cardiovascular disease in CKD, so other factors must be involved in the high mortality rate in uremic patients. In this article we will provide an overview of the epidemiology of the cardiovascular risk factors in CKD. Among the non-traditional risk factors we have focused particularly on those related to mineral metabolism, which contribute the high rates of cardiovascular events observed in CKD.