Chapter 11 Vitamin C and the Brain
Abstract
The brain requires vitamin C to metabolize fuel substrates and synthesize neurotransmitters, regulate their release, and modify their actions. Vitamin C also protects the brain from oxidative damage. Clinical studies do not provide strong evidence that vitamin C deficiency directly impairs brain function but rather suggest that the fatigue, mood disturbance, and cognitive dysfunction sometimes associated with vitamin C deficiency are due to peripheral tissue damage, with possibly an exaggerated emotional response to it. Severe brain injury drastically depletes the cerebrospinal fluid of vitamin C; clinical trials of high-dose intravenous vitamin C are strongly warranted for this condition. The very limited clinical trial evidence available does not demonstrate that vitamin C supplementation slows the progression of dementia or improves clinical outcomes after an acute ischemic stroke. Hypovitaminosis C is common in people with severe mental illness; it should be treated. A few clinical trials have been carried out of low-pharmacologic doses of vitamin C (alone or with other nutrients) as adjunctive therapy in patients with chronic stable schizophrenia or depression, with inconsistent results. There is plausible but inclusive evidence that continuous supplementation with a combination of several micronutrients, including vitamin C, may have cognitive benefits in some people even if they lack diagnosed vitamin deficiencies.
Book
Vitamin CKeywords
Antioxidants, Ascorbic Acid, Infectious Disease, Intravenous Ascorbate, Vitamin C, acute sepsis, cancer treatment, infectious disease treatment, stem cell transplantationDOI
10.1201/9780429442025-11ISBN
9781138337992, 9781032175256, 9780429442025Publisher
Taylor & FrancisPublisher website
https://taylorandfrancis.com/Publication date and place
2020Imprint
CRC PressClassification
Pharmacology
Molecular biology
Biology, life sciences