MRI Shows Higher Calcium and Vitamin D Intake Associated with Brain Lesions in the Elderly

Dr. Martha Payne, a scientist from Duke University (Durham, NC, USA), reported the study's findings on May 1, 2007, at the meeting Experimental Biology 2007, in Washington, DC, USA.

Dr. Payne and her co-investigators from Duke and the University of North Carolina evaluated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from 232 men and women (79 men, 153 women) between the ages of 60 and 86 (average age 71). All the individuals studied had at least some brain lesions of varying sizes, including the extremely miniscule ones frequently seen in even healthy older persons, but those who reported consuming more calcium and vitamin D were significantly more likely to have higher total volume of brain lesions as measured across numerous MRI scans.

Age, hypertension, and other medical conditions--all factors related to the presence of brain lesions--were taken into account during the statistical analysis (were controlled for) and were found not to account for the strong relationship between total lesion volume and high intake of calcium and vitamin D. Since the calcium/vitamin D research was part of a longitudinal study of late-life depression, nearly 50% of the study's participants had been diagnosed with depression. However, the presence or absence of depression also did not appear to influence of relationship between calcium, vitamin D, and brain lesions.

In earlier research, Dr. Payne's team had found that individuals who consumed more high-fat dairy products had more brain lesions than those who did not follow such a diet but that fat intake in general was not a significant factor. If not the fat, the investigators asked, what was it about a high-fat dairy diet that accounts for the specific correlation with brain lesions? This new study narrowed it down to a main component of dairy, namely calcium, and the vitamin D that is found in many dairy products and vitamin D-fortified foods.


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