Journal
NEUROBIOLOGY OF AGING
Volume 35, Issue 5, Pages 1198-1205Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2013.11.005
Keywords
Vitamin D; Motoneurons; Neurotrophic factor; Fas; Prognostic factor
Categories
Funding
- Institut national de la sante et de la recherche medicale (Inserm)
- Association francaise contre les myopathies (AFM)
- Association francaise pour la recherche sur la SLA (ARSLA)
- AFM Ph.D fellowship
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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 and 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 were 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. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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