Microscopic investigation of the role of vitamin D in skeletal muscle
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A microscopic investigation into the role of vitamin D in human skeletal muscle contraction and regeneration.
IRAS ID
140411
Contact name
Daniel Owens
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Liverpool John Moores University
Research summary
Vitamin D deficiency is widespread around the globe and may have numerous health consequences. One problem encountered with vitamin D deficiency is skeletal muscle myopathy (muscle weakness). However, much remains to be understood about the exact role of vitamin D in skeletal muscle.
The national healthcare system incurs a cost of approximately £15m annually from fall related injury, excluding hip fracture that costs the NHS £1.7bn (Anderson 2008). Appropriate vitamin D supplementation has been proposed to reduce falls risk by ~20% (Bischoff-Ferrari et al. 2009). Understanding the mechanisms by which vitamin D may mediate muscle function will allow for more targeted supplementation in deficiency risk groups.
In the proposed trial, 20 young otherwise healthy males will be block randomized into two groups (vitamin D or placebo). Prior to and following 12 weeks of supplementation with their allocated supplement, participants will provide a muscle biopsy that will be used for the analysis of muscle contractile properties and also to assess the ability of the muscle to repair following damage.REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/WM/0469
Date of REC Opinion
13 Dec 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion