Vitamin D confers protection to motoneurons and is a prognostic factor of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Neurobiology of Aging, doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2013.11.005
William Camu a, b, w-camu at chu-montpellier.fr, Boris Tremblier b, Carine Plassot c, Sébastien Alphandery a, Céline Salsac b, Nicolas Pageot a,
Raul Juntas-Morales a, Frédérique Scamps b, Jean-Pierre Daures c, Cédric Raoul b
a ALS center, CHU Gui-de-Chauliac, University of Montpellier I, Montpellier, France
b The Neuroscience Institute of Montpellier, Inserm UMR1051, Saint Eloi Hospital, Montpellier, France
c Laboratory of biostatistics, epidemiology and public health, University Institute of Clinical Research, University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier, France
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable paralytic disorder primarily typified by the selective and progressive degeneration of motoneurons in the brain and spinal cord.
ALS causes muscle wasting and atrophy, resulting eventually in respiratory failure and death within 3-5 years of diagnosis.
Vitamin D is a potent secosteroid hormone with diverse biological functions that include protection against neuronal damage. The detrimental consequences of vitamin D dietary deficiency have been documented in other neurodegenerative diseases. However, the protective effect of vitamin D on motoneuron as well as the influence of its levels on disease course remains elusive. Here we found that the biologically active form of vitamin D significantly potentiated the effect of neurotrophic factors and prevented motoneurons from a Fas-induced death, while electrophysiological properties of motoneurons were not affected.
In ALS patients, we report that a severe vitamin D deficiency accelerates by 4 times the rate of decline and was associated with a marked shorter life expectancy. Our findings support a neuroprotective function of vitamin D on motoneurons and propose vitamin D as a reliable prognostic factor of ALS.
Red line: < 25 nmol = <10 ng
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