Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Dementia

Does vitamin D modulate cognition?

  • News & Views
  • Published:

From Nature Reviews Neurology

View current issue Sign up to alerts

Epidemiological evidence strongly suggests that circulatory levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D below 50 nmol/l are associated with cognitive impairment and the development of dementia. A number of biochemical mechanisms could explain these effects; however, interventional studies to date have revealed disappointingly little.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1: Possible protective mechanisms mediated by vitamin D.

References

  1. Granic, A. et al. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and cognitive decline in the very old: the Newcastle 85+ study. Eur. J. Neurol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ene.12539.

  2. Littlejohns, T. J. et al. Vitamin D and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease. Neurology 83, 920–928 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Brouwer-Brolsma, E. M. et al. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D is associated with cognitive executive function in Dutch prefrail and frail elderly: a cross-sectional study exploring the associations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D with glucose metabolism, cognitive performance and depression. J. Am. Med. Dir. Assoc. 14, 852.e9–852.e17 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Rossom, R. C. et al. Calcium and vitamin D supplementation and cognitive impairment in the Women's Health Initiative. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 60, 2197–2205 (2012).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Berridge, M. J. Calcium regulation of neural rhythms, memory and Alzheimer's disease. J. Physiol. 592, 281–293 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Schram, M. T. et al. Serum calcium and cognitive function in old age. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 55, 1786–1792 (2007).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Morley, J. E. & Farr, S. A. The role of amyloid-beta in the regulation of memory. Biochem. Pharmacol. 88, 479–485 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Moon, M. et al. Vitamin D-binding protein interacts with Aβ and suppresses Aβ-mediated pathology. Cell Death Differ. 20, 630–638 (2013).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Lu'o'ng, K. V. & Nguyen, L. T. The role of vitamin D in Alzheimer's disease: possible genetic and cell signaling mechanisms. Am. J. Alzheimers Dis. Other Demen. 28, 126–136 (2013).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Morley, J. E. et al. Frailty consensus: a call to action. J. Am. Med. Dir. Assoc. 14, 392–397 (2013).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Geriatric Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Room M238, 1402 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, 63104, MO, USA

    John E. Morley

Authors
  1. John E. Morley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John E. Morley.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing financial interests.

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Morley, J. Does vitamin D modulate cognition?. Nat Rev Neurol 10, 613–614 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2014.193

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2014.193

  • Springer Nature Limited

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation