Vit D may halt lung function decline

Vitamin D may slow the progressive decline in the ability to breathe that can occur in people with asthma as a result of human airway smooth  muscle proliferation, according to research from the University of  Pennsylvania, USA.

The group found that calcitriol, a form of vitamin D synthesized  within the body, reduced growth factor-induced HASM proliferation in  cells isolated from both persons with asthma and from persons without  the disease. The proliferation is a part of process called airway  remodeling, which occurs in many people with asthma, and leads to  reduced lung function over time.

The researchers believe that by slowing airway remodeling, they can  prevent or forestall the irreversible decline in breathing that leaves  many asthmatics even more vulnerable when they suffer an asthma attack.  "Calcitriol has recently earned prominence for its anti-inflammatory  effects," said Gautam Damera, who presented the findings at the American  Thoracic annual meeting in San Diego. "But our study is the first to  reveal the potent role of calcitriol in inhibiting ASM proliferation,"  he pointed out.