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Quadriceps muscle strength linked to vitamin D levels in patients with myositis
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The strength of quadriceps muscles was associated with vitamin D levels in patients with myositis, according to the recently published results of a study.
A group of 14 patients with inflammatory myopathies were studied. Patients with inclusion body myositis were excluded. The muscle strength of dominant quadriceps was measured with a hand-held dynamometer, and serum 25-OH vitamin D3 levels were measured at the time of muscle strength measurements.
Patients had a median age of 53.5 years. Included in the study were nine women and five men with an average disease duration of 29 months. Eleven patients were treated with corticosteroids, nine were treated with methotrexate, five were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and two were treated with mycophenolate mofetil.
The median level of serum 25-OH vitamin D3 was 17.8 g/L, and the median strength of quadriceps observed in patients with myositis was 65%, compared with the mean value recorded in healthy volunteers matched for age and sex. The levels of serum 25-OH vitamin D3 positively correlated with muscle strength in the patients with myositis, according to the researchers.
“Our data suggests that vitamin D is involved in muscle strength during inflammatory myopathies,” the researchers wrote. “25-OH-vitamin D3 might be monitored in these patients not only with the aim of protecting bone during corticosteroids treatments, but also with the objective of improving muscle strength.” – by Shirley Pulawski
Reference:
Meyer A, et al. Paper #AB0671. Presented at: European League Against Rheumatism Annual European Congress of Rheumatology; June 10-13, 2015; Rome.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.