Vitamin D3

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Information on nutritional supplements people with ALS have been taking

Vitamin D and ALS[edit]

"Twenty patients took 2000 international units of vitamin D daily. After adjustment for age and baseline vitamin D levels in a linear regression model, the ALSFRS-R score decline was smaller in patients taking vitamin D at 9 months (p=0.02) but was not significantly different at 3 or 6 months. Median vitamin D levels rose from 18.5 to 31.0 ng/mL at 6 months in the group taking vitamin D. No side effects secondary to vitamin D supplementation were reported. Vitamin D supplementation at 2000 international units daily was safe over a period of 9 months and may have a beneficial effect on ALSFRS-R scores. Further studies are warranted to determine whether there is a benefit in vitamin D supplementation for all ALS patients."[1]

"RESULTS: The mean vitamin D concentration was below our laboratory's lower limit of normal (P < 0.0001) and did not change during the course of the disease. The concentrations were higher in patients with bulbar onset (P = 0.003) and were negatively associated with body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.0095). Models with ALSFRS-R (ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised) and BMI as a covariates showed that vitamin D concentrations predicted worse prognosis. CONCLUSION: The distribution of vitamin D concentrations in our cohort was consistent with previous reports. Surprisingly, we noted a negative effect of higher vitamin D levels on prognosis in ALS. More detailed research is warranted to determine whether manipulation of vitamin D could be beneficial to patients.""[2]

"Most subjects had either insufficient or deficient 25(OH)D levels. Lower 25(OH)D was associated with lower ALSFRS-R gross motor scores, but not lower ALSFRS-R total scores at baseline. Levels of 25(OH)D were not predictive of disease progression over the next 12 months... 25(OH)D was associated with baseline gross motor ALSFRS-R scores but did not predict the rate of disease progression. Vitamin D levels may reflect poor mobility in patients with ALS."[3]

"The vitamin D levels in the ALS patients did not correlate with recorded clinical parameters. No clinical differences in terms of ALSFRS-R, MRC or FVC were found between the treated and the untreated patients over time. In ALS, as in other chronic neurological diseases, levels of vitamin D in blood appeared reduced, but no difference was found between the levels in ALS patients and in healthy subjects. Oral vitamin D supplementation in ALS patients was not associated with better prognosis in comparison with untreated ALS patients. Further prospective controlled studies are needed to clarify the effect of vitamin D on the progression of ALS disease."[4]

ALSUntangled evaluation[edit]

At this time, there is evidence that PALS, like those with other chronic illnesses, are at increased risk for vitamin D deficiency. It is therefore reasonable to screen PALS for this. If vitamin D deficiency is found, it seems reasonable to supplement vitamin D according to established guidelines (31 [1]) in order to avoid medical complications of vitamin D deficiency. It is not yet clear, however, that vitamin D supplementation can slow disease progression, improve muscle strength, or reduce falls in PALS. We support further studies to answer these questions.[5]

A hypothesis on why Vitamin D is prevented from entering compromised cells in skeletal muscle of ALS patients[edit]

It will be found that Vitamin D is prevented from entering compromised cells in skeletal muscle of ALS patients. This does not apply to un-compromised skeletal muscle cells, or other healthy cells throughout the body. Compromised muscle cells in sALS have increased activation of Interleukin 1 beta, (IL-1 beta), which activates PLC beta>DAG>PKC within the cell. Activated Protein kinase C, (PKC), inhibits the vitamin D receptor, (VDR), preventing the entry of vitamin D into the compromised skeletal muscle cell. Taking vitamin D supplements will only help if vitamin D levels are low; and bed-ridden or highly immobilized patient that cannot get out in the sun will probably have lower levels of Vitamin D than healthy subjects. The healthy areas of skeletal muscle will gain some benefit from Vitamin D supplements in this case, but the compromised areas of skeletal muscle will receive no benefit as the Vitamin D cannot enter these cells.

References[edit]

  1. Karam et al.: Vitamin D deficiency and its supplementation in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Clin Neurosci 2013;20:1550-3. PMID: 23815870. DOI. We studied 25-hydroxyvitamin D (vitamin D) levels in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and the effect of vitamin D supplementation. Vitamin D levels were checked in 37 consecutive patients with ALS. Demographic data, vitamin D supplementation, change in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) score, and side effects from vitamin D were noted over a 9 month follow-up period. ALSFRS-R scores were compared between patients who took vitamin D and those who did not. The median age was 55 years and median time since symptom onset was 61 months. The mean vitamin D level was 22.3 ng/mL (normal range, 30-80 ng/mL). Eighty-one percent of patients had a vitamin D level lower than 30 ng/mL and 43% had a vitamin D level lower than 20 ng/mL. Twenty patients took 2000 international units of vitamin D daily. After adjustment for age and baseline vitamin D levels in a linear regression model, the ALSFRS-R score decline was smaller in patients taking vitamin D at 9 months (p=0.02) but was not significantly different at 3 or 6 months. Median vitamin D levels rose from 18.5 to 31.0 ng/mL at 6 months in the group taking vitamin D. No side effects secondary to vitamin D supplementation were reported. Vitamin D supplementation at 2000 international units daily was safe over a period of 9 months and may have a beneficial effect on ALSFRS-R scores. Further studies are warranted to determine whether there is a benefit in vitamin D supplementation for all ALS patients.
  2. Blasco et al.: Vitamin D is Not a Protective Factor in ALS. CNS Neurosci Ther 2015;21:651-6. PMID: 26096806. DOI. AIMS: Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with poorer prognosis in ALS. Better understanding of the role of vitamin D in ALS is needed to determine whether trials of systematic supplementation are justified. Our aim was to report vitamin D levels during the course of ALS and to evaluate its relationship with clinical parameters at diagnosis and with disease progression. METHODS: We prospectively collected vitamin D serum concentrations from 125 consecutive ALS patients. Cox proportional hazard models analyzed the relationship between vitamin D concentrations, clinical parameters, and survival. RESULTS: The mean vitamin D concentration was below our laboratory's lower limit of normal (P < 0.0001) and did not change during the course of the disease. The concentrations were higher in patients with bulbar onset (P = 0.003) and were negatively associated with body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.0095). Models with ALSFRS-R (ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised) and BMI as a covariates showed that vitamin D concentrations predicted worse prognosis. CONCLUSION: The distribution of vitamin D concentrations in our cohort was consistent with previous reports. Surprisingly, we noted a negative effect of higher vitamin D levels on prognosis in ALS. More detailed research is warranted to determine whether manipulation of vitamin D could be beneficial to patients.
  3. Paganoni et al.: Vitamin D levels are associated with gross motor function in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Muscle Nerve 2017;. PMID: 28044349. DOI. INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to determine whether serum vitamin D [25(OH)D] levels are associated with disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). METHODS: 25(OH)D was measured in subjects enrolled in a multicenter study for validation of ALS biomarkers. Baseline 25(OH)D levels were correlated with baseline ALSFRS-R scores. Average 25(OH)D levels from baseline and month 6 visits (seasonally asynchronous) were used to predict subsequent rate of change in ALSFRS-R from month 6 to month 18. RESULTS: Most subjects had either insufficient or deficient 25(OH)D levels. Lower 25(OH)D was associated with lower ALSFRS-R gross motor scores, but not lower ALSFRS-R total scores at baseline. Levels of 25(OH)D were not predictive of disease progression over the next 12 months. CONCLUSION: 25(OH)D was associated with baseline gross motor ALSFRS-R scores but did not predict the rate of disease progression. Vitamin D levels may reflect poor mobility in patients with ALS. Muscle Nerve, 2017.
  4. Libonati et al.: Vitamin D in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Funct. Neurol. 2017;32:35-40. PMID: 28380322. Vitamin D supplementation has been proposed as a potential treatment to delay amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) progression. The aims of this study were to compare retrospectively vitamin D blood levels in ALS patients with those in healthy subjects; to correlate vitamin D blood levels with clinical functions in patients; and to evaluate whether administration of vitamin D could modify the clinical progression of the disease. Vitamin D blood levels were evaluated in 57ALS patients and in 57 healthy subjects. In the ALS patients the following clinical variables were evaluated every 3 months: Medical Research Council scale (MRC) score; revised ALS functional rating scale (ALSFRS-R) score; forced vital capacity (FVC). Twentyfour patients were treated with high doses of cholecalciferol. No significant differences were found between the vitamin D blood levels in the ALS patients (18.8 ± 12.2) and the healthy subjects (20.7 ± 10.1). The vitamin D levels in the ALS patientsdid not correlate with recorded clinical parameters. No clinical differences in terms of ALSFRS-R, MRC or FVC were found between the treated and the untreated patients over time. In ALS, as in other chronic neurological diseases, levels of vitamin D in blood appeared reduced, but no difference was found between the levels in ALS patients and in healthy subjects. Oral vitamin D supplementation in ALS patients was not associated with better prognosis in comparison with untreated ALS patients. Further prospective controlled studies are needed to clarify the effect of vitamin D on the progression of ALS disease.
  5. ALSUntangled Group: ALSUntangled No. 24: Vitamin D. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener 2014;15:318-20. PMID: 24689759. DOI.