Vitamin D may Protect Against MS

Ivanhoe Newswire
Wednesday, December 20, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Vitamin D may help protect people against multiple sclerosis.

According to researchers who looked at blood levels of the vitamin and MS rates in more than 7 million members of the U.S. military, whites with the highest blood levels of the vitamin had a 62-percent lower risk of having MS than those with the lowest levels. The effect was not seen in other ethnic groups.

The investigators decided to study vitamin D's role in the condition because of its effects on the immune system. MS, which often strikes young adults and can lead to physical disabilities, is thought to be an autoimmune disease.

Why the protective effect was not seen in blacks and Hispanics remains a mystery, but the researchers speculate it may have something to do with the fact they had significantly lower blood levels of vitamin D overall. There were also fewer blacks and Hispanics in the study population than whites.

The investigators report it is too soon to recommend vitamin D supplements to ward off MS. However, they write these results fit in with previous studies indicating a link between the vitamin and the disease. "Our results converge with a growing body of evidence supporting a protective role for vitamin D in MS development," they write.

They suggest the next step might be a clinical trial conducted among people with a first-degree relative with the disease, as these people are at significantly higher risk of developing MS themselves.

The study was led by investigators from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

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SOURCE: The Journal of The American Medical Association, 2006;296:2832-2838