Huntington’s disease is an autosomal dominant progressive neurodegenerative disease, which results in a decreased quality of life and an early death. A high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was first described in a 2013 study in patients with manifest Huntington’s disease, where serum vitamin D level was found to be associated with motor capabilities of the patients. Objectives: Our objective was to investigate the effect of a high-dose vitamin D3 supplementation on a transgenic mouse model of Huntington’s disease. Methods: Our study was performed on N171-82Q Huntington’s disease transgenic mice in age- and gender-matched groups. We collected data on the motor state and survival of the mice. Results: The results demonstrate that though vitamin D3 had no effect on the motor performance of transgenic mice, but significantly increased the lifespan of transgenic animals (Kaplan-Meier survival curves: vehicle-supplemented group: 73 (67–94) days vs. vitamin D3-supplemented group: 101 (74–109) days, p=0.048 Mantel-Cox log rank test). Conclusions: Further investigations are needed to determine whether a neuroprotective or a general corroborative effect of vitamin D leads to the measured effect. Our findings support the potential influence of vitamin D deficiency on the disease course and propose that vitamin D may be an effective supplementary treatment to beneficially influence clinical features of Huntington’s disease.
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