Moghimi E, Solomon JA, Gianforcaro A, Hamadeh MJ. PLoS One. 2015 May 28;10(5):e0126355.
Significance of the research:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a debilitating neuromuscular disease that results in motor neuron degeneration. As a result, there is progressive muscular degeneration which ultimately results in respiratory failure within 3-5 years. Vitamin D (or "the sunshine vitamin") is well-known for its anti-oxidative properties and works on many of the molecular pathways that are adversely affected in ALS. In fact, studies have shown that most ALS patients are vitamin D deficient and that supplementation of the vitamin may slow disease progression. Thus, our study investigated the effects of vitamin D restriction (1/40th the Adequate Intake-AI) in the G93A mouse model of ALS. It was found that vitamin D restriction exacerbates disease pathophysiology. When compared to G93A mice supplemented with adequate intake levels of vitamin D, females had higher inflammation and GPX1, a compensatory response to molecular damage. Males had higher levels of lipid peroxidation and lower antioxidant capacity. Thus, the despite the exacerbation of ALS pathophysiology due to vitamin D restriction, the damaging effects are sex specific. It is hypothesized that sex hormones play a strong role in the body's protective effects against the disease.