With much discussion about the COVID pandemic, vitamin D has found its way into the conversation. And rightly so, given the recent research pointing to its value in numerous instances including rates of intensive care unit admissions.1But it shouldn’t require this type of global event to make us take note of all the existing information we had about just how important this vitamin is to our health - and the fact most of us are extremely lacking in it. 

 
While we’ve written before about the need to ensure optimal levels of vitamin D for both immune and brain health, recent news regarding its potential use in viral protection prompts revisiting this important information.

It wasn’t all that long ago that at least in popular media, and likely not in everyday conversation, that the term “microbiome” came up all that often. Now, in the wake of extensive research, we know far more about just how important the gut microbiome in particular is to our general wellbeing AND to brain health as well.

CADASIL or “cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy and subcortical infarct leukoencephalopathy” is likely not something you hear about every day. It is indeed a rare diagnosis and in the course of my career I have seen only two cases of this condition. BUT…a recent article regarding the possibility that some cases of CADSASIL may be mistaken for multiple sclerosis (MS) gives us reason enough to discuss the differences and the importance of obtaining a proper diagnosis in any illness. 

The means to making an earlier diagnosis in cases of Parkinson’s disease (PD) may be as accessible as our skin. According to a recent publication, research has shown that a skin biopsy has the potential for use in identifying Parkinson’s, as well as Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases (also known as synucleinopathies) perhaps well before irreparable damage to the brain tissue has occurred.