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Vitamin D3 potentiates myelination and recovery after facial nerve injury

  • Otology
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Roles of vitamin D on the immune and nervous systems are increasingly recognized. Two previous studies demonstrated that ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) or cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) induced functional recovery and increased myelination in a rat model of peroneal nerve transection. The current report assessed whether cholecalciferol was efficient in repairing transected rabbit facial nerves. Animals were randomized into two groups of rabbits with an unilateral facial nerve surgery: the vitamin D group included animals receiving a weekly oral bolus of vitamin D3 (200 IU/kg/day), from day 1 post-surgery; the control group included animals receiving a weekly oral bolus of vehicle (triglycerides). Contralateral unsectioned facial nerves from all experimental animals were used as controls for the histological study. The facial functional index was measured every week while the inner diameter of myelin sheath and the G ratio were quantified at the end of the 3 month experiment. The current report indicates that cholecalciferol significantly increases functional recovery and myelination, after 12 weeks of treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the therapeutic benefit of vitamin D supplementation in an animal model of facial paralysis. It paves further the way for clinical trials based on the administration of this steroid in individuals with injured facial nerves.

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Acknowledgments

Our grateful thanks to Collège Français des enseignants d’Otorhinolaryngologie et Chirurgie Cervico-Faciale and Fondation de l’Avenir for their support, and to Béatrice Fiorenza for her gracious help with the Fig. 1.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest concerning this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aix Marseille Université, IFSSTAR, LBA, UMR-T 24, 13344, Marseille, France

    Marion Montava & Jean-Pierre Lavieille

  2. Service d’oto-rhino-laryngologie et chirurgie cervico-faciale, APHM, Hôpital Nord, 13915, Marseille, France

    Marion Montava & Jean-Pierre Lavieille

  3. Aix Marseille Université, Inserm, U1068, 13288, Marseille, France

    Stéphane Garcia

  4. Aix Marseille Université, Inserm, IRD, UMR_S 912 SESSTIM, 13385, Marseille, France

    Julien Mancini

  5. APHM, Hôpital La Timone, BioSTIC, 13385, Marseille, France

    Julien Mancini

  6. Faculté de Médecine, secteur Nord, Aix Marseille Université et IRBA, UMR MD2, 13916, Marseille, France

    Yves Jammes

  7. Faculté de Médecine, secteur Timone, Aix Marseille Université, Service commun de Microscopie Electronique, 13385, Marseille, France

    Joël Courageot

  8. Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, NICN, UMR7259, 13344, Marseille, France

    François Feron

Authors
  1. Marion Montava
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  2. Stéphane Garcia
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  3. Julien Mancini
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  4. Yves Jammes
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  6. Jean-Pierre Lavieille
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  7. François Feron
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marion Montava.

Additional information

J.-P. Lavieille and F. Feron are equally supervising authors.

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Montava, M., Garcia, S., Mancini, J. et al. Vitamin D3 potentiates myelination and recovery after facial nerve injury. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 272, 2815–2823 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-014-3305-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-014-3305-y

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