MS, Sunshine and Vitamin D

[Guest guest]

MS, Sunshine and Vitamin D

 

 

Unpublished Study says sunshine may prevent MS.

As if the snow weren't enough, there may be another reason to head

south in the winter. Sunbathing may be the best way to protect

yourself against multiple sclerosis. It has been known for at least

50 years that people in high latitudes face a 100 times greater risk

of contracting the disease than people living at the equator.

 

There is even a four-fold variation in the number of cases in the

United States between the southern states and the state of

Washington, the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British

Geographers' conference in Plymouth was told last week. Graham

Bentham, from the environmental sciences department of Britain's

East Anglia University, has conducted a statistical study that he

believes explains these geographical variations for the first time.

He said his study, which has yet to be published, successfully

tested the hypothesis that the variation could be explained by

geographical differences in exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB)

radiation, the body's principal source of Vitamin D.

 

The study found that the higher proportion of oily fish, rich in

Vit. D, in the diet of Norwegians and Icelanders was likely to

account for their lower rates of contracting MS compared with other

northern Europeans. Bentham also found that populations that tended

to eat a lot of animal fat were more likely to get MS.

 

National Post, Jan. 8, 2001

 

 

Possible correspondence vitamin D levels and lesion activity in MS

Vitamin D and Seasonal Fluctuations of Gadolinium-Enhancing Magnetic

Resonance Imaging Lesions in Multiple Sclerosis

Auer et al recently showed a striking, near sinusoidal annual

variation in the number of active magnetic resonance imaging lesions

in 53 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Their results provide solid

support for past, less-well documented claims of seasonal

fluctuation in MS disease activity. Furthermore, the seasonal

fluctuation in lesion activity may provide an important clue for

identifying environmental factors which are part of MS etiology.

 

Auer et al proposed that seasonal changes in the rate of common

infections might partially explain the seasonal fluctuation in

lesion activity. They noted that climatic factors such as

temperature, amount of sunlight and UV light exposure might also be

involved. We suggest that vitamin D supply, which fluctuates with

seasonal UV light exposure, is the main environmental factor

involved. Vitamin D and its metabolites have been implicated in MS

etiology by epidemiological, experimental and immunological data2.

Moreover, circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] also shows a

near sinusoidal annual fluctuation at higher latitudes.

 

To investigate a possible correspondence between the fluctuations in

vitamin D intake and lesion activity, we compared published monthly

25(OH)D levels in 415 people, aged 50-80, from southern Germany4

with the data of Auer et al which were also collected in southern

Germany (Figure). Third order polynomial curves fit both the 25(OH)D

and lesion data significantly. When the 25(OH)D data are lagged by

two months, there is a close correspondence between the two curves

with high levels of 25(OH)D correlating with low levels of lesion

activity and vice versa. A two-month lag is within reason and is

taken to reflect the time for a given 25(OH)D level to affect

detectable lesion occurrence.

 

The inverse correlation between lesion activity and 25(OH)D level

suggests that vitamin D nutrition may have a notable immuno-

modulating effect on CNS inflammation, a conclusion also reached

through experimental and immunological studies. The impressive

correlation also supports the need for proper clinical trials to

test whether improved vitamin D nutrition (not the vitamin D

hormone, 1,25(OH)2D) can reduce formation of CNS lesions and slow

the progression of MS. Until definitive results are available,

clinicians may want to ensure their MS patients are receiving a

meaningful vitamin D intake (3000-4000 IU/day) throughout the year.

Although well above current nutritional guidelines (200-400 IU),

such an intake is physiological and safe and most importantly,

provides a desirable target amount of circulating 25(OH)D5.

 

Month-to-month variation of average number of active lesions in

multiple sclerosis patients from southern Germany as reported by

Auer et al and month-to-month variation in the median levels of the

vitamin D metabolite, 25(OH)D, in 50-80 year olds from southern

Germany as reported in Scharla. The two, fitted, third order

polynomial curves show a close correspondence when the 25(OH)D data

are lagged two months.

 

Ashton F. Embry, Ph.D., Lloyd R. Snowdon, Ph.D. and Reinhold Vieth,

Ph.D.

 

Annals of Neurology, 2000, v. 48, p.271-272

 

 

Vitamin D Causes +ve Changes in Blood Chemistry in people with MS

Taking vitamin D supplements may positively influence the immune

systems of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to

researchers. A small study conducted by researchers at Penn State

and Helen Hayes Hospital in New York has shown that a daily dose of

vitamin D - 1000 IU or two and a half times the recommended dose for

adults -- causes changes in blood chemistry that indicate positive

effects for multiple sclerosis patients. Dr. Margherita Cantorna,

assistant professor of nutrition, says the study has not been in

progress long enough to observe changes in the clinical symptoms of

the disease in the patients who participated ``Vitamin D status

affects chemicals that modulate the immune system called cytokines,

and these changes may benefit patients with MS,'' lead researcher

Dr. Margherita Cantorna, of Pennsylvania State University,

University Park, told Reuters Health.

According to Cantorna, the study findings are supported by the fact

that the number of cases of MS is nearly zero near the equator and

increases with latitude in both hemispheres. The increased sunlight

near the equator allows the body to produce more vitamin D, and may

theoretically reduce the incidence of MS, Dr Cantorna noted in a

press release accompanying the abstract last week.

 

``Doctors should be aware of the detrimental effects of vitamin D

insufficiency for their MS patients and make sure they are vitamin D

adequate.'' However, Cantorna also pointed out that vitamin D at

high doses is toxic.`` MS patients should not take large amounts of

vitamin D supplements. They should increase their vitamin D intake

under the supervision of their doctors,'' she warned.

 

By Emma Patten-Hitt, PhD

 

ATLANTA (Reuters Health) -

 

 

Sunshine and MS

Lower Risk of MS in Queensland Australia due to Vitamin D from

SUNSHINE!

British and Irish people who migrate to Queensland in Australia

enjoys a 75% reduction in their risk of getting MS compared to those

who stay at home.

 

Yet in Tasmania the reduction in risk is zero. Queensland has year-

round sunshine whereas Tasmania does not. This is the strongest

evidence yet that an environmental factor, thought to be vitamin D

from sunshine, has a protective effect against MS.

 

`Risk of Developing MS for British & Irish Immigrants to

Australia'. -Ashton Embry phD, Reinhold Vieth PhD, & Colleen Hayes.

 

 

Can Vitamin D impact MS?

Canadian study being considered

Could doing something as simple as taking Vitamin D have an effect

on multiple sclerosis?

 

There is some evidence that Vitamin D might play some part in the

development of MS and other diseases such as diabetes, and perhaps

even have a positive effect once the disease is present.

 

It's an intriguing question that Dr. George Ebers hopes to answer

with some colleagues in Canada with funding support from the MS

Society of Canada.

 

The head of neurology at the University of Oxford and former

director of the MS Clinic in London, Ont., is organizing a meeting

in the next few months to discuss a study on whether Vitamin D

supplements could prevent the onset of MS in people at high risk —

probably relatives of people who have the disease.

 

Others are interested in the question as well including Ashton Embry

of Calgary (Direct MS). When his son Matthew developed MS six years

ago at the age of 18, Mr. Embry began searching for clues as to what

might trigger MS, he told The Globeand Mail.

 

He first became interested in the possibility that diet might have

an influence and more recently in Vitamin D. He learned that a

number of scientists were interested in Vitamin D and some were

convinced that people who live in northerly climates receive far

less Vitamin D than they should because of the lack of sunlight six

months of the year.

 

A researcher in Boston, Dr. Michael Holick, calls Vitamin D

deficiency an epidemic among North American adults, since in more

northerly areas people aren't receiving Vitamin D from the sun from

four to six months of the year. The sun doesn't shine as much in the

winter, and people are more covered because of the cold.

 

" These are intriguing clues that a common vitamin may be able to

play a positive role in reducing the risk of developing MS or even

be a possible therapy. It is too early to draw any definite

conclusions, " said Dr. William J. McIlroy, national medical advisor.

 

The lack of natural Vitamin D from the sun correlates to the

geographic distribution of MS. The rate of MS increases the further

people live from the equator, but in some Scandinavian countries

there appears to be a lower rate of MS among people who eat a lot of

fish, a rich source of dietary Vitamin D.

 

Recently, some small studies are providing a few more details.

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University and Helen Hayes

Hospital in New York have preliminary results that show a daily dose

of Vitamin D causes positive changes in blood chemistry.

 

Although it is too early to show any clinical effects, the blood

samples after six months of Vitamin D supplementation show an

increase in cells associated with suppression of immune system

attacks and a decrease in cells associated with triggering attacks.

In animal experiments, Vitamin D supplementation prevented the

animal model of MS, according to the researchers.

 

At the University of Wisconsin, researchers have used a form of

Vitamin D to see if it can inhibit the development of the animal

model of MS in mice. Those treated with the hormone 1,25-(OH)2D3 did

not develop the disease while those on placebo became ill.

 

" These are intriguing clues that a common vitamin may be able to

play a positive role in reducing the risk of developing MS or even

be a possible therapy. It is too early to draw any definite

conclusions, " said Dr. William J. McIlroy, national medical advisor.

 

" If people with MS are considering trying Vitamin D as a supplement,

they should be aware that high doses of Vitamin D can be toxic, and

they have been linked to heart problems and kidney failure, " he

added.

 

The publication Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties

recommends a daily dosage of Vitamin D at 400 to 800 IU for adults.

Those who believe in additional supplementation suggest that 1,000

to 4,000 IU daily can be taken without harmful side effects. People

considering taking Vitamin D supplements should discuss it with

their physicians.

 

MS Society of Canada Publication, Volume 29, Feb. 2002