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Evidence mounts that vitamin D may be key to preventing dementia

Evidence mounts that vitamin D may be key to preventing dementia
There's growing evidence that vitamin D supplements can protect your brain from dementia
There's growing evidence that vitamin D supplements can protect your brain from dementia
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There's growing evidence that vitamin D supplements can protect your brain from dementia
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There's growing evidence that vitamin D supplements can protect your brain from dementia

A new large-scale study has shown that warding off dementia early may be as simple for some as taking a vitamin D supplement.

Previous research has found that low levels of vitamin D are linked to a higher risk of developing dementia. The hormone helps remove amyloid from the brain – its accumulation is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease – and it may also assist in preventing tau build-up, another protein at play in the development of dementia.

While vitamin D is obtained through direct sunlight and diet, studies have consistently shown around 40% of Americans to be D-deficient, with the figure higher depending on age and skin color, among other factors.

Researchers looked at the link between dementia and vitamin D supplements in close to 12,400 people who had a mean age of 71 and were dementia-free at the start of the study. Within this group 4,637 took vitamin D supplements.

Of the 2,696 participants who progressed to dementia in the following decade, 75% had no exposure to vitamin D supplements prior to diagnosis. The remaining quarter had baseline exposure at the beginning of the study.

“Our findings give key insights into groups who might be specifically targeted for vitamin D supplementation,” said Zahinoor Ismail, lead researcher and professor at the University of Calgary and University of Exeter. “Overall, we found evidence to suggest that earlier supplementation might be particularly beneficial, before the onset of cognitive decline.”

Researchers found 40% fewer dementia diagnoses among the 4,637 participants who took vitamin D supplements, compared to the cohort that did not.

Interestingly, the study also found that vitamin D supplements seemed to benefit a few subsets of participants more: women, those with normal cognition as opposed to mild impairments, and in people who did not carry the APOE-e4 gene.

Around 40-65% of dementia sufferers carry this gene, which is associated with the regulation of lipid metabolism, and is linked to increase risk of developing the disease. Researchers believe that those with this gene absorb vitamin D from the intestine, which would potentially alter the efficacy of supplements.

“Preventing dementia or even delaying its onset is vitally important given the growing numbers of people affected,” said Byron Creese, co-author and senior lecturer in neuroscience at the University of Exeter. “The link with vitamin D in this study suggests that taking vitamin D supplements may be beneficial in preventing or delaying dementia.”

The study was published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring.

Source: University of Exeter via EurekAlert!

2 comments
2 comments
LauchlanGiddy
This is a complex area of study. Tangles and plaque seem to be an artifact, evidences of leaky capillaries and also high cholesterol connected with the AP4, problems with blood brain barrier and the build up of various toxins, waste products and other substances implicated. Yes Vitamin D may well be implicated, would be sound to supplement with it considering we live more like moles these days. WE have been barking up the wrong tree. Research was too focused, spread the net wide
Steven Mandell
What dosage level was administered on a daily basis?
Did they experiment with different dose levels and reach any conclusions as to what the ideal minimum dose was?

Amazed that such basic information was left out when according to this article, such a pivotal and important result was verified.
I am currently raking vitamin D.
But am I taking the ideal amount on a daily basis?
So important to know, and not even bothered to be mentioned in this teaser, for which I can imagine no ulterior motive for leaving this most relavnt fact out of.