Vitamin D3-enriched diet correlates with a decrease of amyloid plaques in the brain of AβPP transgenic mice.

In addition to its function in calcium and bone metabolism, vitamin D is neuroprotective and important for mitigating inflammation. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system, characterized by neuronal loss in many areas of the brain, and the formation of senile (neuritic) plaques, which increase in number and size over time. The goal of this project was to investigate whether vitamin D3 supplementation would affect amyloid plaque formation in amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) transgenic mice that spontaneously develop amyloid plaques within 3-4 months of birth.