Neurosteroid hormone vitamin D and its utility in clinical nutrition
- 1 January 2007
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care
- Vol. 10 (1), 12-19
- https://doi.org/10.1097/mco.0b013e328010ca18
Abstract
Vitamin D is a seco-steroid hormone with multiple functions in the nervous system. We discuss clinical and experimental evidence of the role of vitamin D in normal and pathological brain functions, and analyze the relative importance of vitamin D-modulated brain mechanisms at different stages of life. We also outline perspectives for the use of vitamin D in clinical nutrition to prevent or treat various brain disorders. Numerous brain dysfunctions are linked to vitamin D deficits and/or dysfunctions of its receptors. In both animals and humans, vitamin D serves as an important endogenous and/or exogenous regulator of neuroprotection, antiepileptic and anticalcification effects, neuro-immunomodulation, interplay with neurotransmitters and hormones, modulation of behaviors, brain ageing, and some other, less-explored, brain processes. Vitamin D emerges as an important neurosteroid hormone in the brain, with a strong potential for age-specific applications in clinical nutrition.Keywords
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