Studies have found that the brains of people with cognitive decline perform better with higher levels of vitamin D.
The study is published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
“This study highlights the importance of studying how foods and nutrients create resilience that protects the aging brain from diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias.” Tufts Aging ( HNRCA) and Chief Scientist on the HNRCA’s Vitamin K Team.
Vitamin D supports many functions in the body, including the immune response and maintaining healthy bones. Dietary sources include fatty fish and fortified beverages (such as milk and orange juice). Even short exposure to sunlight can provide vitamin D.
“Although many studies, including many on vitamin D, have implicated dietary and nutritional factors in cognitive performance and function in older adults, they have all been based on dietary vitamin D intake or blood measurements. A scientist on the vitamin K team and an associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutritional Sciences and Policy at Tufts, said, “Whether vitamin D is present in the brain and, if so, their concentrations affect cognitive function.” I wanted to know how it was related to the decline.
Booth, Shea, and their team examined brain tissue samples from 209 participants in the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a long-term study of Alzheimer’s disease that began in 1997. Researchers at Rush University assessed the participants’ cognitive function. They analyzed irregularities in postmortem brain tissue, with no signs of age-related cognitive impairment.
In this study, researchers looked for vitamin D in four areas of the brain: two associated with changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, one associated with blood flow-related forms of dementia, and one associated with No areas are known to be associated with cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s disease or vascular disease. They found that vitamin D is actually present in brain tissue, and that higher vitamin D levels in all four areas of the brain correlated with improved cognitive function.
However, levels of vitamin D in the brain were not associated with any of the physiological markers associated with Alzheimer’s disease in the brain that were studied. This includes evidence of amyloid plaque accumulation, Lewy body disease, or chronic or microscopic stroke. This means that exactly how vitamin D affects brain function is still unknown.
“Dementia is multifactorial and many of its underlying pathological mechanisms are poorly characterized,” says Shea. “Vitamin D may be related to results that we haven’t seen yet, but we plan to study in the future.”
Vitamin D is also known to vary by race and ethnicity, and most participants in the original Rush cohort were Caucasian. The researchers plan follow-up studies using a more diverse group of subjects to look at other brain changes associated with cognitive decline. We hope this will help you better understand the role vitamin D plays.
However, experts warn people against using large doses of vitamin D supplements as a preventive measure. 800 IU for Excessive amounts can be harmful and are associated with risk of falls.
“Vitamin D has been found to be present in reasonable amounts in the human brain and appears to be correlated with less cognitive decline,” says Shay. Before we begin, more research is needed to identify neuropathologies in which vitamin D is associated in the brain.”
Support for this work was obtained from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging and the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. Full information on authors, funders and conflicts of interest is available in the published paper. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the United States Department of Agriculture.
Source: Tufts University
Original Research DOI: 10.1002/alz.12836
This article is reprinted from Futurity under an Attribution 4.0 International License. Please read the original article.
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