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Lack of sunshine linked to Parkinson's A lack of the vitamin obtained by exposure to the sun has been linked to Parkinson's disease, research has found. Rebecca Smith Telegraph.co.uk - A study of elderly people with Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease found they were more likely to have insufficient levels of vitamin D than healthy people of the same age. More than half of patients with Parkinson's had low levels of vitamin D, along with 41 per cent of those with Alzheimer's disease. Only 36 per cent of health elderly people had low vitamin D. It is not clear if a lack of the vitamin contributes to the development or progression of the neurological disease or whether it could be a symptom. In addition more Parkinson's patients were clinically deficient in vitamin D, 23 per cent compared to 16 per cent of Alzheimer's patients and 10 per cent of patients with neither disorder. Parkinson's patients are now being given supplementary vitamin D in either standard doses or large doses to investigate the effect on the progression of the disease. The study was carried out by Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia and is published in the Archives of Neurology. The body makes vitamin D from exposure to sunlight, small amounts are present in certain foods such as fish and cereals and milk can be fortified with it. Study author Marian Evatt said: "We found that vitamin D insufficiency may have a unique association with Parkinson's which is intriguing and warrants further investigation." The most common symptoms of Parkinson's are tremour, stiffness and slowness of movement as nerve cells in the brain become affected by the disease. Dr Evatt said the part of the brain affected by Parkinson's has a high number of vitamin D receptors which may suggest a mechanism for the connection. In the UK there are around 120,000 people with Parkinson's and around 10,000 are diagnosed each year. **************New MapQuest Local shows what's happening at your destination. Dining, Movies, Events, News & more. Try it out (http://local.mapquest.com/?ncid=emlcntnew00000002) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn