Decline of lung function can be halted with Vitamin D

Vitamin D emerges as an effective option for slowing down the progressive decline in the ability to breathe in asthmatic people due to human airway smooth muscle (HASM) proliferation.

The finding was reported by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. It was remarked by the researchers that calcitriol, a form of vitamin D synthesized within the body, can prove effective to reduce growth-factor-induced HASM proliferation in cells isolated from both persons with asthma and from persons without the disease.

From Sciencedaily.com:

"Calcitriol has recently earned prominence for its anti-inflammatory effects," said Gautam Damera, Ph.D., who will present the research at the American Thoracic Society's 105th International Conference in San Diego on May 20. "But our study is the first to reveal the potent role of calcitriol in inhibiting ASM proliferation."
The experiments were conducted with cells from 12 subjects, and the researchers compared calcitriol with dexmethasone, a corticosteroid prescribed widely for the treatment of asthma. Although, dexmethasone is also a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, the researchers found that it had little effect on HASM growth.
Dr. Damera and his colleagues found calcitriol inhibits HASM in a dose-dependent manner, with a maximum inhibitory effect of 60 percent ± 3 percent at 100nM.

The irreversible decline in breathing leading to vulnerable health in asthmatics is possible of being prevented or forestalled by slowing airway remodeling, as per the researchers.