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Association of vitamin D deficiency with cognitive impairment in older women. Cross-sectional study. Annweiler C, Schott AM, Allali G, Bridenbaugh SA, Kressig RW, Allain P, Herrmann FR, Beauchet O. Neurology. 2009 Sep 30. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19794127 doi:10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181beecd3 Conclusions: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D deficiency was associated with cognitive impairment in this cohort of community-dwelling older women.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research suggests that low vitamin D levels in the body are associated with thinking or "cognitive" impairments in older men, but whether vitamin D supplements can help is not yet known. In the study, an investigation of European men, subjects with low levels of vitamin D scored worse on a standard test of cognitive ability than did their peers with normal levels, Dr. David M. Lee, from the University of Manchester, UK, and co-researchers found. Although, the authors emphasize, the difference in scores was not that great.

Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentration and Cognitive Impairment.\nLlewellyn DJ, Langa K, Lang I.\nJ Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 2009 Feb 4. [Epub ahead of print]\nPMID: 19073839 \ndoi:10.1177/0891988708327888\n

"Hypovitaminosis D is a deficiency of Vitamin D. It can result from: inadequate intake coupled with inadequate sunlight exposure (in particular sunlight with adequate ultra violet B rays), disorders that limit its absorption, conditions that impair conversion of vitamin D into active metabolites, such as liver or kidney disorders, or, rarely, by a number of hereditary disorders.[1] Deficiency results in impaired bone mineralization, and leads to bone softening diseases, rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults, and contributes to osteoporosis.[1] Osteomalacia may also occur rarely as a side-effect of phenytoin use Hypovitaminosis D is typically diagnosed by measuring the concentration in blood of the compound 25-hydroxyvitamin D (calcidiol), which is a precursor to the active form 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (calcitriol).[6] One recent review has proposed the following four categories for hypovitaminosis D:[7] * Insufficient 50-100 nmol/L (20-40 ng/mL) * Mild 25-50 nmol/L (10-20 ng/mL) * Moderate 12.5-25.0 nmol/L (5-10 ng/mL) * Severe < 12.5 nmol/L (< 5 ng/mL) Note that 1.0 nmol/L = 0.4 ng/mL for this compound.[8] Other authors have suggested that a 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of 75-80 nmol/L (30-32 ng/mL) may be sufficient

PLYMOUTH medical researchers have discovered a link between lack of the 'sunshine vitamin' and the onset of dementia.\n\nTeams from the city's Peninsula Medical School and the universities of Cambridge and Michigan have for the first time found a relationship between lower Vitamin D levels and cognitive impairment in older people.\n\nThe results of their large-scale study are to be published in the Journal of Geriatric Psychology and Neurology.

"One of the surprises over the past year has been all the research regarding Vitamin D and brain health. Give that many people are spending less time outdoors and more time in front of their computers, we all should be concerned, as Vitamin D comes in part from our exposure to the sun. Low Vitamin D levels have been associated with pain, depression, MS, cancer and now perhaps even dementia. Here are the results of a new study that should cause all of us to pay attention. I frequently check the Vitamin D levels in my patients and frrequently see that they are below the optimal level. Get your levels checked if you have any of these concerns. A new large-scale senior population study has found that a lack of vitamin D in the elderly could be linked to cognitive impairment. The study, conducted on almost 2,000 adults over the age of 65, is the first of its scale to identify this relationship, and prompted researchers to suggest vitamin D supplementation as a possible means of reducing the risk of dementia. "

Supplementation with cholecalciferol does not improve glycaemic control in diabetic subjects with normal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. Jorde R, Figenschau Y. Eur J Nutr. 2009 Apr 16. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19370371 10.1007/s00394-009-0020-3 Conclusions We were not able to demonstrate that vitamin D supplementation had a significant effect on glucose metabolism in subjects with type 2 diabetes but without vitamin D deficiency. Further studies are needed in larger groups of subjects with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, who also exhibit low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.

Vitamin D and calcium insufficiency-related chronic diseases: molecular and cellular pathophysiology. Peterlik M, Cross HS. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2009 Dec;63(12):1377-86. Epub 2009 Sep 2. PMID: 19724293 doi:10.1038/ejcn.2009.105 A compromised vitamin D status, characterized by low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-(OH)D) serum levels, and a nutritional calcium deficit are widely encountered in European and North American countries, independent of age or gender. Both conditions are linked to the pathogenesis of many degenerative, malignant, inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Studies on tissue-specific expression and activity of vitamin D metabolizing enzymes, 25-(OH)D-1alpha-hydroxylase and 25-(OH)D-24-hydroxylase, and of the extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CaR) have led to the understanding of how, in non-renal tissues and cellular systems, locally produced 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-(OH)2D3) and extracellular Ca2+ act jointly as key regulators of cellular proliferation, differentiation and function. Impairment of cooperative signalling from the 1,25-(OH)2D3-activated vitamin D receptor (VDR) and from the CaR in vitamin D and calcium insufficiency causes cellular dysfunction in many organs and biological systems, and, therefore, increases the risk of diseases, particularly of osteoporosis, colorectal and breast cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus type I, metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Understanding the underlying molecular and cellular processes provides a rationale for advocating adequate intake of vitamin D and calcium in all populations, thereby preventing many chronic diseases worldwide.

Plasma vitamin D and 25OHD responses of young and old men to supplementation with vitamin D3. Harris SS, Dawson-Hughes B. J Am Coll Nutr. 2002 Aug;21(4):357-62. PMID: 12166534 Conclusions: There appears to be no age-related impairment among men in the absorption or metabolism of 20 µg/day of vitamin D3 taken orally for at least eight weeks.

Sweat gland epithelial and myoepithelial cells are vitamin D targets. Koike N, Stumpf WE. Exp Dermatol. 2007 Feb;16(2):94-7. PMID: 17222221 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0625.2006.00513.x Nuclear receptor binding of 1,25(OH)2-vitamin D3 (vitamin D) in skin keratinocytes of epidermis, hair sheaths and sebaceous glands was discovered through receptor microscopic autoradiography. Extended experiments with 3H-1,25(OH)2-vitamin D3 and its analog 3H-oxacalcitriol (OCT) now demonstrate nuclear receptor binding in sweat gland epithelium of secretory coils and ducts as well as in myoepithelial cells, as studied in paws of nude mice after i.v. injection. The results suggest genomic regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation, as well as of secretory and excretory functions, indicating potential therapies for impaired secretion as in hypohidrosis of aged and diseased skin.