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Vitamin D Alters Developing Neurons In The Brain’s Dopamine Circuit

News

Neuroscientists at The University of Queensland have uncovered how vitamin D deficiency affects developing neurons in schizophrenia.
[Source: medicalxpress.com]

Comment

Studies show that deficiencies of vitamin D and other micronutrients are common in schizophrenia and psychosis. Conversely, optimizing micronutrient intake can help prevent and control mental health conditions.

A scientific review and meta-analysis published in 2018 examined 28 studies and confirmed that psychosis is associated with nutritional deficiencies. Published in the Schizophrenia Bulletin journal by researchers from the UK, Australia and Belgium, the data shows that, compared to non-psychiatric individuals, patients newly diagnosed with psychosis have significant reductions in levels of folate, vitamin D, and vitamin C. The researchers further observed that patients with the lowest levels of these nutrients also had the worst mental health.

Notably, therefore, a scientific review of worldwide studies has shown that add-on therapy with high-dose B vitamins can significantly reduce symptoms of schizophrenia more than standard antipsychotic drug treatments used alone. Published in Psychological Medicine, one of the world’s leading psychology journals, B-vitamin interventions utilizing higher dosages or combining several vitamins were consistently found to be effective in reducing psychiatric symptoms. Lower doses, in contrast, were ineffective.

To learn more about the growing evidence for the role of nutrition in schizophrenia and psychosis, see this article on our website.