Vitamin A (retinol derivatives) is an anti-cortisol agent

haidut

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At least it is in the brain, and the lowering of cortisol retinol caused in the brain (hippocampus) led to improvement in age-related memory loss. However, if you read the study you'll see that the authors seem convinced that retinol downregulates the glucorticoid "receptors" not just in the brain but pretty much everywhere in the body. So, if this is true it would be another good reason for increasing retinol intake. Another weapon against cortisol in addition to sugar.

http://www.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3 ... 6/abstract

The study is free, just use the menu on the right to get to the different sections or download a PDF.
 

aguilaroja

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Re: Vitamin A (retinol derivatives) is an anti-cortisol agen

haidut said:
At least it is in the brain, and the lowering of cortisol retinol caused in the brain (hippocampus) led to improvement in age-related memory loss. However, if you read the study you'll see that the authors seem convinced that retinol downregulates the glucorticoid "receptors" not just in the brain but pretty much everywhere in the body. So, if this is true it would be another good reason for increasing retinol intake. Another weapon against cortisol in addition to sugar.

Thank you.

The same authors have a recent study with free full text about vitamin A protection of hippocampus spatial memory:

PLoS One. 2013 Aug 19;8(8):e72101. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0072101. eCollection 2013.
A mid-life vitamin A supplementation prevents age-related spatial memory deficits and hippocampal neurogenesis alterations through CRABP-I.
Touyarot K, Bonhomme D, Roux P, Alfos S, Lafenêtre P, Richard E, Higueret P, Pallet V.

I did not hear before of the retinoid relations in biological rhythms (see below). I wonder if vitamin A may counterbalance some of the shock adaptation functions of cortisol.

J Neurochem. 2013 Nov 24. doi: 10.1111/jnc.12620. [Epub ahead of print]
The rhythm of retinoids in the brain.
Ransom J, Morgan PJ, McCaffery PJ, Stoney PN.
Author information
Abstract

The retinoids are a family of compounds that in nature are derived from vitamin A or pro-vitamin A carotenoids. An essential part of the diet for mammals, vitamin A has long been known to be essential for many organ systems in the adult. More recently, however, they have been shown to be necessary for function of the brain and new discoveries point to a central role in processes ranging from neuroplasticity to neurogenesis. Acting in several regions of the central nervous system including the eye, hippocampus and hypothalamus, one common factor in its action is control of biological rhythms. This review summarizes the role of vitamin A in the brain; its action through the metabolite retinoic acid via specific nuclear receptors, and the regulation of its concentration through controlled synthesis and catabolism. The action of retinoic acid to regulate several rhythms in the brain and body, from circadian to seasonal, is then discussed to finish with the importance of retinoic acid in the regular pattern of sleep. We review the role of vitamin A and retinoic acid (RA) as mediators of rhythm in the brain. In the suprachiasmatic nucleus and hippocampus they control expression of circadian clock genes while in the cortex retinoic acid is required for delta oscillations of sleep. Retinoic acid is also central to a second rhythm that keeps pace with the seasons, regulating function in the hypothalamus and pineal gland.
 

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