Vitamin D is a vitamin that is found everywhere in the body and therefore critical to health. Evidence of vitamin D is also found inside brain cells. Vitamin D works with alongside calcium to regulate flow into and out of neurons. When the balance is thrown off, negative outcomes to brain health can occur.
Location
Tissues all over the body have receptors that take in vitamin D. Vitamin D is also expressed in gene tissues inside the tissue of brain neurons, according to Robert Przybelski and Niel Binkley in 2007 in "Archives of biochemistry and Biophysics." Specifically, vitamin D is located in channels that also contain calcium. Vitamin D works alongside calcium within these channels.
Cause
The local production of vitamin D in the brain must occur in order for the brain to be healthy. It is likely that a lack of production of the most active form of vitamin D is what leads to impairments in the brain, according to Przybelski and Binkley. Vitamin D works with the calcium channels in the brain protecting the neurons from insult, as the researchers explain.
Types
The correct mixture of vitamin D must be used in order for it to be effective. Scientific standards are set for vitamin D serum mixture ratio. To use anything less would not be optimal for brain health according to Przybelski and Binkley. The researchers look at brain tissue in patients with brain cancer tumors. They found that when using agreed upon scientific standards for vitamin D formula ratio, 78 percent of the patients were found to be deficient in vitamin D. The most active form is vitamin D3 since this form has been found inside channels of neurons in the brain.
Outcomes
Another study found that three out of 11 patients with tumors went into complete remission after being treated with vitamin D. The brain imaging technique, MRI, reveals the impact of vitamin D on brain health. Vitamin D insufficiency has been linked to the integrity of veins and arteries in the brain which can be viewed on MRIs, according to J. Buell, Ph.D. and colleagues in 2010 in "Neurobiology."
Parallel Study
Research findings suggest that vitamin D does play a role in protecting the veins and arteries of the brain, according to Buell and colleagues. The fact that vitamin D is linked to outcomes such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease further supports the idea that vitamin D is involved with mechanisms that affects blood flow to the brain.
References
- "Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics"; Is Vitamin D Important for Preserving Cognition? A positive correlation of serum 25 Hydroxyvitamin D Concentration with Cognitive Function; 2007
- "Neurology"; 25-Hydroxyvitamin D, Dementia, and Cerebrovascular Pathology in Elders Receiving Home Services; J.S. Buell, Ph.D. et al.; 2010
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