A new study in International Journal of Neuroscience suggests that vitamin D deficiency intensifies the spatial learning deficit in Alzheimer's disease, a common form of dementia.The study led by Taghizadeh M. at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran and colleagues found rats with Alzheimer's disease on a diet without vitamin D did worse in the Morris water maze than their counterparts on a diet supplemented with vitamin D.The authors say in their study report that early studies have provided evidence that nutrition is associated with neurodegenerative Alzheimer's disease.Specifically, rats deficient of vitamin D displayed a poorer spatial learning ability compared without their counterparts on the vitamin D supplemented diet.On the other hand, vitamin D supplementation did not significantly affect the spatial performance.The researchers wrote "although vitamin D deficiency strengthens the spatial learning deficit in AD, a supplement of 1,25(OH)2D3 does not effectively underlie the maze performance. It can be concluded that subjects with AD (Alzheimer's disease) must be protected from vitamin D inadequacy."An estimated 5 million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease. There is no cure for the disease.David LiuRelated news:

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