Is Vitamin D Deficiency Implicated in Autonomic Dysfunction?
J Pediatr Neurosci. 2017 Apr-Jun;12(2):119-123. doi: 10.4103/jpn.JPN_1_17.
Wadhwania R, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
Dysautonomia, dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, presents with heterogeneous clinical features from an imbalanced regulation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Low Vitamin D levels can explain the heterogeneous clinical features of
- migraine headaches,
- cardiac and
- gastrointestinal dysfunction, and
- oxidative stress
evident in dysautonomia patients.
The role of Vitamin D in modulating pain sensitivity has been recently established. However, there is a lack of research and understanding regarding the association between Vitamin D deficiency and autonomic dysfunction. Vitamin D is a neuroactive hormone that modulates autonomic balance, regulating the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, and has multisystem benefits. The following review explores the literature and addresses the relationship between Vitamin D deficiency and autonomic dysfunction. Overall, this literature review implicates Vitamin D deficiency in autonomic dysfunction and elucidates the potential therapeutic role of Vitamin D in autonomic disorders. PubMed search was performed for English articles from 1996 to 2016. Following keywords: Vitamin D, autonomic dysfunction and orthostatic hypotension, Vitamin D receptor, migraine and traumatic brain injury, Vitamin D, cardiac and gastrointestinal disease, Vitamin D, glutathione, oxidative stress, and serotonin were included. Only articles reporting primary data relevant to the above question were included in the study.
KEYWORDS:
Autonomic dysfunction and orthostatic hypotension; Vitamin D; Vitamin D receptor; cardiac and gastrointestinal disease; glutathione and oxidative stress; migraine and traumatic brain injury; serotonin
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Autonomic Neuropathy or Autonomic Dysfunction (Syncope): Information and Instructions Cleveland Clinic as of Feb 2018
What are the symptoms of autonomic neuropathy? - Common symptoms include:
- Postural hypotension: lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting, dimness of vision, unsteady gait, weakness
- Urinary dysfunction: frequency, excessive urinating at night, urgency, stress incontinence, retention, hesitancy
- Sexual dysfunction: erectile dysfunction, vaginal dryness, decreased libido
- Gastrointestinal dysfunction: intermittent diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting, full-ness after eating little, loss of appetite, slowing of gastric content, bloating, heartburn
- Impaired sweating: excessive or decreased sweating
- Exercise intolerance
- Paresthesias: numbness or tingling in feet, legs, hands, arms or other body parts
Dysautonomia Wikipedia
"Dysautonomia or autonomic dysfunction is a condition in which the autonomic nervous system (ANS) does not work properly. This may affect the functioning of the heart, bladder, intestines, sweat glands, pupils, and blood vessels. Dysautonomia has many causes, not all of which may be classified as neuropathic.[4] A number of diseases can feature dysautonomia, such as Parkinson's disease, HIV/AIDS, multiple system atrophy, autonomic failure, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, and autonomic neuropathy."
Signs and Symptoms
"Anhydrosis [6], Anxiety [3], Blurry or double vision [6], Bowel incontinence [6], Brain fog [6], Constipation [3], Dizziness [3], Difficulty swallowing [7], Exercise intolerance [6], Chronic fatigue [3], Insomnia [3], Low blood pressure [3], Orthostatic hypotension [6], Syncope [3], Tachycardia [4], Tunnel vision [3], Urinary incontinence or urinary retention [6], Vertigo [3], Weakness [3]"
The word VITAMIN does not occur once on the wikipedia page
Comment by Founder of VitaminDWiki:
Seems possible - a great many of the signs and symptoms have been independently been associated with low Vitamin D
Related studies in PubMed
- Cardiovascular Autonomic Dysfunction: Link Between Multiple Sclerosis Osteoporosis and Neurodegeneration Feb 2018, doi: 10.1007/s12017-018-8481-2
- Vitamin D in the Spectrum of Prediabetes and Cardiovascular Autonomic Dysfunction Sept 2017, free PDF online
- Impaired cardiac autonomic functions in apparently healthy subjects with vitamin D deficiency July 2015, DOI: 10.1111/anec.12233
- Autonomic dysfunction: a unifying multiple sclerosis theory, linking chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, vitamin D(3), and Epstein-Barr virus Dec 2012, doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2012.04.004
- Hypovitaminosis D predicts the onset of orthostatic hypotension in older adults Sept 2016. free PDF online
- Hypovitaminosis D and orthostatic hypotension: a systematic review and meta-analysis June 2016, 10.1097/HJH.0000000000000907