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Review
. 2019 Jul 5;55(7):341.
doi: 10.3390/medicina55070341.

Non-Skeletal Activities of Vitamin D: From Physiology to Brain Pathology

Giulia Bivona  1 , Luisa Agnello  1 , Chiara Bellia  1 , Giorgia Iacolino  1 , Concetta Scazzone  1 , Bruna Lo Sasso  1 , Marcello Ciaccio  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Non-Skeletal Activities of Vitamin D: From Physiology to Brain Pathology

Giulia Bivona et al. Medicina (Kaunas). .

Abstract

Vitamin D is a secosteroid hormone regulating the expression of almost 900 genes, and it is involved in the regulation of calcium and phosphate metabolism, immune response, and brain development. Low blood vitamin D levels have been reported in patients affected by various diseases. Despite a large amount of literature data, there is uncertainty surrounding the role of vitamin D as a serum biomarker in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Indeed, the lack of internationally recognized 25(OH)D3 reference measurement procedures and standard materials in the past led to unstandardized serum total 25(OH)D3 results among research and clinical care laboratories. Thus, most of the literature studies reported unstandardized data, which are of little use and make it difficult to draw conclusions of the role of vitamin D in AD and PD. This review summarizes the extra-skeletal actions of vitamin D, focusing its role in immunomodulation and brain function, and reports the issue of lacking standardized literature data concerning the usefulness of vitamin D as a biomarker in AD and PD.

Keywords: 25(OH)D3; Alzheimer’s disease; Parkinson’s disease; brain function; immune system; vitamin D.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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