To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Vitamin D Deficiency May Be More Common in People With Parkinson's Disease URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/22EBBE.htm Doctor's Guide October 13, 2008
CHICAGO -- October 13, 2008 -- Individuals with Parkinson's disease appear more likely to be vitamin D deficient than healthy adults of the same age or patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to a report in the October 2008 issue of Archives of Neurology. Marian L. Evatt, MD, MS, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, and colleagues compared vitamin D levels of 100 patients with Parkinson's disease with vitamin D levels of 97 patients with Alzheimer's disease patients and 99 healthy individuals matched for age, sex, race, genotype, and geographic location. The authors reported that significantly more patients with Parkinson's disease (55%) had insufficient vitamin D compared with the controls (36%) or patients with Alzheimer's disease (41%). The average vitamin D concentration in the group with Parkinson's disease was considerably lower than the Alzheimer's disease and healthy groups (31.9 ng/mL vs 34.8 ng/mL and 37 ng/mL, respectively). "These findings support the previously suggested need for further studies to assess what contribution a low [25-hydroxyvitamin D] (25[OH]D) concentration adds to the risk of developing Parkinson's disease (vs other neurodegenerative disorders) and to determine whether correction of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency will improve motor or nonmotor symptoms in Parkinson's disease," the authors concluded. "Finally, the finding of a high incidence of vitamin D deficiency in the Parkinson's disease and other cohorts highlights the importance of routinely checking the level of 25(OH)D, particularly in elderly patients, since deficiency is strongly correlated with a higher incidence of osteoporosis, falls and hip fractures and has been associated with a higher incidence of several forms of cancer and autoimmune disorders." SOURCE: Archives of Neurology --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.