Parkinson’s Disease Linked to Low Vitamin D

Vitamin D’s ever-expanding health roles continue and may now include Parkinson’s disease. So suggest a group of researchers from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta after analyzing for vitamin D in blood samples from 300 people—100 with Parkinson’s disease, 100 with Alzheimer’s disease and 100 healthy controls. The study found that more than half (55%) of the Parkinson’s sufferers had low levels of D compared to 41% of those with Alzheimer’s and 36% of controls. While people with neurological diseases may avoid the outdoors and thus be exposed to less sunlight, which is needed to make vitamin D, the researchers suggest that lower levels of the vitamin in those with Parkinson’s compared to those with Alzheimer’s hints at a link between Parkinson’s and D.