Vitamin D Shown Beneficial in Stroke Prevention.

A recent study conducted in the UK and published in the January issue of Stroke (37, 1:243, 2006) found that Vitamin D deficiency is present in most cases of acute stroke and may even precede a stroke event. Previous research found that stroke can reduce bone mineral density (BMD) and induce vitamin D deficiency that can increase post-stroke hip fractures, particularly in long-term survivors. In the current study researchers investigated levels of vitamin D in cases of acute stroke. They compared serum 25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels of 44 first-stroke patients in The Addenbrooke Acute Stroke Unit with serum levels in 96 healthy, ambulant elderly subjects each 2 months for one year. After accounting for seasonal variance, researchers found more than two-thirds of the acute patients exhibited a vitamin D deficiency. They concluded that not only did a majority of acute stroke patients have a vitamin D deficiency throughout the year, but that such a deficiency might have also preceded the initial stroke. Researchers suggested that vitamin D may be a risk marker for stroke, and the role of vitamin D repletion in musculoskeletal health after stroke needs to be further investigated.

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