Vitamin D Supplementation and Post-Stroke Rehabilitation: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Nutrients 2019, 11(6), 1295; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11061295
Ryo Momosaki 1,*OrcID, Masahiro Abo 2 and Mitsuyoshi Urashima 3
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vitamin D in Health and the Prevention and Treatment of Disease)
Stroke patients need a loading dose immediately,
followed by maintenance dosing of 4,000 IU daily or 50,000 IU every week or two
- Overview Stroke and vitamin D
- Low vitamin D at time of stroke predicts 3 X more likely to die in a month (unless add Vit D) – Dec 2017
- Post-stroke depression not reduced by 2,000 IU of vitamin D (not a surprise) – Nov 2021
- Overview Loading of vitamin D Without starting with a loading dose, daily dosing often takes >3 months to provide any benefit
Items in BOTH of the categories Intervention Trial and Stroke:
- Post-stroke Vitamin D supplementation helped in 11 ways – May 2023
- Post-stroke fatigue cut in half by Vitamin D (just 600 IU daily in 3 months) – Nov 2021
- Stroke patients getting weekly 50,000 IU Vitamin D did better – trial March 2021
- Stroke not prevented by just 2,000 IU of vitamin D plus 840 mg Omega-3 (VITAL) – Feb 2020
- Stroke patients need more than 2,000 IU of vitamin D (found this time in Japan) – RCT June 2019
- Improved recovery from ischemic stroke with Vitamin D (300,000 IU injection) – RCT June 2018
- Ischaemic stroke – Vitamin D doubled survival (Injection followed by monthly 60,000 IU) – RCT Aug 2016
Items in BOTH of the categories Intervention Loading Dose and Stroke:
Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki
Low vitamin D levels are associated with poorer outcomes after stroke. However, it is not clear whether post-stroke vitamin D supplementation can improve these outcomes. In this study, we investigated the effects of vitamin D supplementation on outcomes in hospitalized patients undergoing rehabilitation after acute stroke. A multicenter, randomized, controlled, double-blind, parallel-group trial was conducted from January 2012 through July 2017. One hundred patients admitted to a convalescent rehabilitation ward after having an acute stroke were randomized, and each one received either vitamin D3 (2000 IU/day) or a placebo. The primary outcome was a gain in the Barthel Index scores at week 8. Secondary outcomes were seen in Barthel Index efficiency, hand grip strength, and calf circumference at week 8. Ninety-seven patients completed the study. There were no significant differences in the demographic characteristics between the groups. The mean (±standard deviation) gain in the Barthel Index score was 19.0 ± 14.8 in the supplementation group and 19.5 ± 13.1 in the placebo group (p = 0.88). The Barthel Index efficiency was 0.32 ± 0.31 in the supplementation group and 0.28 ± 0.21 in the placebo group (p = 0.38). There were no between-group differences in the other secondary outcomes. Our findings suggest that oral vitamin D3 supplementation does not improve rehabilitation outcomes after acute stroke. View Full-Text