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Minerals, trace elements, Vit. D and bone health

Vitamin D supplementation has no effects on progression of motor dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 74, pages 167–175 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objectives

To investigate the effects of cholecalciferol supplementation on the progression of motor disability in a cohort of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with low blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D] levels, on the basis of the hypothesis of potential neuroprotective effects of vitamin D supplementation.

Methods

Forty-eight ALS patients, 34 with deficient (<20 ng/mL) and 14 with insufficient (20–29 ng/mL) serum levels of 25(OH)D, were randomized and treated by 3 different doses of cholecalciferol [50.000, 75.000 and 100.000 international units (IU) /month] and evaluated after 6-months. Assessment of motor dysfunction at baseline and after 6 months included ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALFRS-R) and upper motor neuron (UMN) scores and blood samples for 25(OH)D levels.

Results

Clinical data of 33 patients were available after 6 months. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), with pre-treatment measurements included as covariate, did not show statistically significant differences in the ALSFRS-R (p > 0.05) and UMN (p > 0.05) among the patient groups who underwent 3 different doses of cholecalciferol. Conversely, the treatment with 75.000 IU/month or 100.000 IU/month induced a significant increase in serum levels of 25(OH)D in comparison with the supplementation with 50.000 IU/month; no significant differences were found between 75.000 IU/month and 100.000 IU/month.

Conclusions

Our findings highlighted that 6-month supplementation of vitamin D in ALS patients had no significant effects on motor dysfunction. However, it is recommended to prevent medical complications of vitamin D deficiency in ALS patients as well as in other populations of neurodegenerative patients, characterized by low mobility and decreased sun exposure.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to all patients with ALS who kindly agreed to take part in this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences; MRI Research Centre “SUN-FISM”, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy

    Francesca Trojsi, Mattia Siciliano, Carla Passaniti, Alvino Bisecco, Antonio Russo, Luigi Lavorgna, Sabrina Esposito, Dario Ricciardi, Maria Rosaria Monsurrò & Gioacchino Tedeschi

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Caserta, Italy

    Mattia Siciliano, Carla Passaniti & Gabriella Santangelo

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Contributions

FT, MS, GS, MRM, and GT conceived and designed the experiments; FT, MS, CP, AB, AR, LL, SE, and DR performed the experiments; FT, MS, CP, and GS analyzed the data; FT, MS, CP, AB, AR, LL, SE, DR, MRM, and GT contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools; FT, MS, GT, and GS wrote and/or revised the paper.

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Correspondence to Francesca Trojsi.

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Trojsi, F., Siciliano, M., Passaniti, C. et al. Vitamin D supplementation has no effects on progression of motor dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Eur J Clin Nutr 74, 167–175 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-019-0448-3

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