Parkinson's linked to vitamin D deficiency

A majority of Parkinson's disease patients had insufficient levels of vitamin D, according to a new study from the US Emory University School of Medicine published in the October issue of the Archives of Neurology. The retrospective study examined 100 people per group, who were recruited between 1992 and 2007. Every fifth Parkinson's patient from Emory's clinical neurology database was selected, then healthy controls and patients with Alzheimer's disease were matched on age and state of residence. The study compared PD sufferers to AD patients because the authors wanted to evaluate the possibility that neurodegenerative diseases in general lead to vitamin D insufficiency.