Could Calcium and Vitamin D Cause Brain Lesions?

Ivanhoe Newswire
Wednesday, May 2, 2007; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Consuming high levels of calcium and vitamin D may lead to greater volumes of brain lesions in elderly people. Brain lesions are damaged regions in the brain that can increase the risk of developing dementia, depression, cognitive impairment and stroke.

Researchers from Duke University in North Carolina and the University of North Carolina studied MRI scans from 232 men and women between ages 60 and 86. The average age of people in the study was 71. All subjects had pre-existing brain lesions of various sizes, including the very small ones often found in older people, who are still considered healthy. Researchers report the MRI scans of the people who reported ingesting more calcium and vitamin D showed higher volumes of brain lesions.

Other medical conditions, including age and hypertension, can also contribute to the presence of brain lesions and were taken into account in the study. These factors did not affect the strong relationship between high calcium and vitamin D intake and total lesion volume. Although high overall fat intake was not a significant factor in the study, researchers did find more brain lesions in those who consumed more high-fat dairy products.

Calcium is well-known for its positive effects on bone health, but it also helps in the functioning of nerve and muscle cells. When too much calcium becomes incorporated into bone-like deposits in the blood vessel walls, a loss of elasticity and narrowing of blood vessels can result. Vitamin D may further increase the arterial calcification by regulating calcium retention and activity. If this process affects blood vessels in the brain, lesions may form from that damage.

Since this study was part of a longitudinal study of late-life depression, almost half of the subjects had previously been diagnosed with depression. This factor did not appear to influence the relationship between calcium, vitamin D and brain lesions. The researchers will continue to study older patients, both with and without depression, and the possible effects high calcium and vitamin D intake have on brain lesions.

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SOURCE: Presented at Experimental Biology 2007 in Washington DC; May 1, 2007