Vitamin D3
Vitamin D and ALS
"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."[1]
ALSUntangled evaluation
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.[2]
References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ ALSUntangled Group: ALSUntangled No. 24: Vitamin D. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener 2014;15:318-20. PMID: 24689759. DOI.
