Anatomy Shared Article Research

This blog exists for the Anatomy students at Tree of Life Christian School. We will be reading various scientific articles, summarizing our research, and then commenting on others' summaries. We hope to broaden our view of the current research surrounding the human body, and to help others see how truly amazing the design of the human body is.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency
The study of vitamin D deficiency is trying to explain why people have Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a loss of neurons that make a chemical, dopamine, in the brain. Dopamine is what controls the body movements of the whole body from the brain. Vitamin D is a source that comes mostly from the sun. A shortage of vitamin D can cause heart disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, cancer and even respiratory problems. Vitamin D can turn on or off as many as 800 genes, determining the cell. The researchers did a few trials which included the studying of blood samples from people with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and some healthy people. The conclusion of the results were: more than fifty-five percent of the people with Parkinson’s disease than the others, were deficient of vitamin D. The researchers still don’t know what vitamin D’s role is in Parkinson disease, but they are studying the first signs of the disease.
Reaction:
Reading the article about Parkinson’s disease I didn’t know much about Parkinson’s disease. From the study I have done on the article I realized that this disease controls the movements of the body. Without dopamine the brain can not make the body move properly. Even though the researchers still don’t know what causes this to happen to the brain. It could be possible that a lack of vitamin D is the problem, because the neurons need vitamin D. The people with Parkinson’s can barely move to go outside, therefore this would explain the lack of vitamin D. But it does not explain how the people in the first place obtained a vitamin D deficiency. This study could be true or false about the deficiency. On the other hand, even if they are wrong it is still a step closer to finding out what causes Parkinson’s and what doesn’t cause it.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/37541/title/Vitamin_D_deficiency

2 Comments:

Blogger Elizabeth said...

I never really knew very much about Parkinson's disease, but I do know that vitamin D is very important in the body. If this is true that vitamin D play's a roll in Parkinson's disease, then the vitamin is obviously very important. I'm sure that Parkinson's disease is not only caused by a deficiancy of vitamin D, but it will be interesting to see what research reveals about the part that it plays in the disease.

Thursday, October 23, 2008 5:03:00 PM  
Blogger Stephanie R said...

I was always told that vitamin D was good for me, but I guess I never knew how good. It's interesting to see how lacking something like vitamin D can cause many problems and diseases in the human body.

Thursday, October 23, 2008 5:57:00 PM  

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