Major Breakthrough In Understanding Vitamin Balance In The Body

Description

Previously thought to be the duty of other organs in the body including the liver and kidneys, this is the first-time that scientists have identified a role for the brain in vitamin regulation and could have implications for diagnosis and treatment of vitamin-related diseases from anaemia to infertility to blindness.

In this study, the scientists looked at vitamin A and how the brain reacts to it. Vitamin A is essential for life but until now it was not known how it is maintained in the body.

The study was conducted initially on rats and found that a region of the brain called the hypothalamus may be responsible for controlling the levels of vitamin A, and that there may be top-down control of vitamin A function around the body.