Serum vitamin levels in multiple system atrophy: A case-control study

Daji Chen; Linlin Wan; Zhao Chen; Xinrong Yuan; Mingjie Liu; Zhichao Tang; You Fu; Sudan Zhu; Xuewei Zhang; Rong Qiu; Beisha Tang; Hong Jiang

doi:10.3389/fnagi.2022.1105019

Serum vitamin levels in multiple system atrophy: A case-control study

Front Aging Neurosci. 2023 Jan 5:14:1105019. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.1105019. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Daji Chen¹, Linlin Wan^{1

2

3

4}, Zhao Chen^{1

2

4

5}, Xinrong Yuan¹, Mingjie Liu¹, Zhichao Tang¹, You Fu¹, Sudan Zhu¹, Xuewei Zhang⁶, Rong Qiu⁷, Beisha Tang^{1

2

4

5}, Hong Jiang^{1

2

4

5

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
² Key Laboratory of Hunan Province in Neurodegenerative Disorders, Central South University, Changsha, China.
³ Department of Radiology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
⁴ Hunan International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Neurodegenerative and Neurogenetic Diseases, Changsha, China.
⁵ National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
⁶ Health Management Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
⁷ School of Computer Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, China.
⁸ School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha, China.
⁹ National International Collaborative Research Center for Medical Metabolomics, Central South University, Changsha, China.

Abstract

Aim: There is increasing evidence suggesting that vitamins may play important roles in the pathogenesis of multiple system atrophy (MSA). The purpose of this study was to detect the changes of serum vitamin levels and investigate their correlation with disease severity in MSA patients.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 244 MSA patients, 200 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and 244 age-gender matched healthy controls were recruited. Serum vitamin levels were measured, including vitamin A, B1, B2, B9 (folate), B12, C, D, and E. Relevant clinical scales were used to assess the disease severity of MSA patients.

Results: Compared with the healthy controls, decreased serum folate levels and increased serum vitamin A and C levels were detected in MSA patients. Similar differences were also observed in the gender-based subgroup analysis. There were no differences detected between MSA and PD patients. In MSA patients, significant correlation was found between vitamin A, folate, or vitamin C and relevant clinical scales or laboratory findings. In addition, ROC analysis showed potential diagnostic value of the combination of vitamin A, folate, and vitamin C in distinguishing MSA patients from healthy controls.

Conclusion: There were significant changes in the blood vitamin spectrums of MSA patients, suggesting that dysregulation of vitamins homeostasis might play an important role in the pathogenesis of MSA.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; biomarker; multiple system atrophy; pathogenesis; vitamins.