Vitamin B5 (d-pantothenic acid) localizes in myelinated structures of the rat brain: Potential role for cerebral vitamin B5 stores in local myelin homeostasis.

Vitamin B5 (d-pantothenic acid; pantothenate) is an essential trace nutrient that functions as the obligate precursor of coenzyme A (CoA), through which it plays key roles in myriad biological processes, including many that regulate carbohydrate, lipid, protein, and nucleic acid metabolism. In the brain, acetyl-CoA is necessary for synthesis of the complex fatty-acyl chains of myelin, and of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. We recently found that cerebral pantothenate is markedly lowered, averaging ∼55% of control values in cases of Huntington's disease (HD) including those who are pre-symptomatic, and that regions where pantothenate is lowered correspond to those which are more severely damaged.