Neuropathic Pain Comorbid Cognitive Impairment and Vitamin D: A Narrative Review From Mechanisms to Clinical Management.
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Anesthesiology Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University Zunyi China.
- 2Department of Anesthesiology Hospital of Stomatology, Zunyi Medical University Zunyi China.
- 3Early Clinical Research Ward Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University Zunyi China.
- 4Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Brain Disease Prevention and Treatment of Guizhou Province Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University Zunyi China.
Abstract
Neuropathic pain (NP) is not merely simple persistent pain but a complex pathological condition mediated by dysregulation across multiple systems, including the neuro-immune-endocrine axis. As a high-intensity endogenous stressor, persistent pain signals can deplete cognitive resources and trigger neuroinflammation and central sensitization, leading to cognitive impairment (CI) characterized by attention deficits and impaired working memory. Currently, mainstream pharmacological treatments for NP carry risks of addiction and may exacerbate CI. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop synergistic intervention strategies that address both pain management and cognitive protection. Given that NP and CI share multiple pathological pathways, identifying interventions capable of simultaneously targeting multiple mechanisms has become a research hotspot. Vitamin D, a secosteroid hormone with both neuroprotective and immunoregulatory functions, is closely associated with an increased risk of NP and CI when deficient. Existing evidence suggests that Vitamin D may regulate the shared pathological mechanisms of these two diseases through multiple pathways, thus serving as a potential adjunctive strategy worthy of further investigation to alleviate the intertwined vicious cycle between NP and CI. This paper systematically reviews the shared pathological mechanisms between NP and CI, summarizes the latest research progress, and explores the multi-target mechanisms of Vitamin D in intervening in NP-CI comorbidity, aiming to promote the application of this safe and cost-effective nutritional strategy in dietary supplementations for NP-CI comorbidity.
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BibTeX
@article{zhao2026neuropathic,
title = {{Neuropathic Pain Comorbid Cognitive Impairment and Vitamin D: A Narrative Review From Mechanisms to Clinical Management.}},
author = {Nan Zhao and Yang Yang and Wanqiu Yu and Yuhang Zhu and Zhaoqiong Zhu},
journal = {Food science \& nutrition},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/fsn3.72440},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42910163},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Neuropathic Pain Comorbid Cognitive Impairment and Vitamin D: A Narrative Review From Mechanisms to Clinical Management.
AU - Nan Zhao
AU - Yang Yang
AU - Wanqiu Yu
AU - Yuhang Zhu
AU - Zhaoqiong Zhu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Food science & nutrition
DO - 10.1002/fsn3.72440
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42910163
AB - Neuropathic pain (NP) is not merely simple persistent pain but a complex pathological condition mediated by dysregulation across multiple systems, including the neuro-immune-endocrine axis. As a high-intensity endogenous stressor, persistent pain signals can deplete cognitive resources and trigger neuroinflammation and central sensitization, leading to cognitive impairment (CI) characterized by attention deficits and impaired working memory. Currently, mainstream pharmacological treatments for NP carry risks of addiction and may exacerbate CI. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop synergistic intervention strategies that address both pain management and cognitive protection. Given that NP and CI share multiple pathological pathways, identifying interventions capable of simultaneously targeting multiple mechanisms has become a research hotspot. Vitamin D, a secosteroid hormone with both neuroprotective and immunoregulatory functions, is closely associated with an increased risk of NP and CI when deficient. Existing evidence suggests that Vitamin D may regulate the shared pathological mechanisms of these two diseases through multiple pathways, thus serving as a potential adjunctive strategy worthy of further investigation to alleviate the intertwined vicious cycle between NP and CI. This paper systematically reviews the shared pathological mechanisms between NP and CI, summarizes the latest research progress, and explores the multi-target mechanisms of Vitamin D in intervening in NP-CI comorbidity, aiming to promote the application of this safe and cost-effective nutritional strategy in dietary supplementations for NP-CI comorbidity.
SN - 2048-7177
ER -