Neurological disorder and excessive accumulation of calcium in brain of clinically vitamin A-deficient rats.

Three groups of rats were fed two types of synthetic diets for 52 d. The -A group was allowed free access to a vitamin A-deficient diet and showed classical signs of vitamin A deficiency. The brain was the only organ in our experiment where no significant weight difference was present among the three groups. In the brain, calcium concentration was significantly higher in the -A group when compared with the PF (Pair-fed; allowed restricted amount of control diet) and +A groups (allowed free access to control diet). In the tibia, calcium and magnesium concentrations were significantly lower in the -A group when compared with other two groups. Excessive accumulation of calcium in brain and apparently similar unbalance in bone mineral concentration were observed in central nervous system (CNS) degenerative diseases. Our results suggest that abnormal metabolism of calcium and magnesium in some tissues and excessive accumulation of calcium in brain may be responsible for the development of neurological disorders in vitamin A-deficient rats.