Vitamin D

[Guest guest]

Sunshine' vitamin helps prevent MS

By OLIVER MOORE

Globe and Mail Update

A Harvard study shows that women can reduce their risk of multiple

sclerosis by 40 per cent simply by consuming the recommended daily

dose of Vitamin D.

" These results need to be confirmed with additional research, but it's

exciting to think that something as simple as taking a multivitamin

could reduce your risk of developing MS, " said study author Kassandra

Munger, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

Women are twice as likely as men to develop multiple sclerosis. A

debilitating disease whose cause is unknown, MS causes balance

problems, impaired speech, extreme fatigue, double vision and

paralysis. It is the most common neurological disease affecting young

Canadians and is diagnosed in three people every day in Canada.

Dr. Munger said that MS is more prevalent the farther one gets from

the equator, leading to the hypothesis sunlight exposure, and the

resulting levels of vitamin D, may be a factor in reducing the risk of

MS.

" This is the first prospective study to look at this question, " she

said, referring to research that will be published Tuesday in the

journal Neurology.

Researchers examined the results of two large-scale studies of women,

the 20-year Nurses' Health Study and the 10-year Nurses' Health Study

II. Women showing symptoms of MS before the study began were not

included, leaving a total of 187,563 women. Of these, 173 women went

on to develop MS.

The entire group of women was divided into groups based on their diet

and use of vitamin supplements. Over the long run, the data showed

that the women with the highest intake of vitamin D -– the recommended

daily dose -– were 40 per cent less likely to develop MS than those

who used no supplements.

(The recommended daily dose of vitamin D, 400 `International Units,'

is the amount found in roughly a litre of milk. It is the equivalent

to 10 micrograms.)

Researchers found that the risk of developing MS was lower both for

those whose vitamin D intake came from supplements only and for those

whose intake from both supplements and food. Those whose intake of

vitamin D was from food only did not show any lesser risk of

developing MS.

Other research has shown that giving vitamin D to mice with an

autoimmune disease used as a model of MS can prevent or slow the

course of the disease. Studies have also shown that people with MS

tend to have insufficient levels of vitamin D, and that periods of low

vitamin D occur before times of high disease activity, and periods of

high vitamin D precede times of low disease activity.

Dr. Munger said that future prospective studies should measure the

levels of vitamin D in the blood prior to the onset of MS.