Sunlight & Vitamin D The MS vitamin D connection is at last being taken seriously in mainstream medicine. There is a striking geographical variation in the incidence of MS from country to country. This is in part related to saturated fat consumption, and the ratio of polyunsaturated fats to saturated fats, but also relates to another independent variable, latitude.1 Esparza and co-workers listed countries in order of mortality rates from MS and compared this with latitude, that is distance from the equator. With a few exceptions, the exceptions being where fish consumption is very high, it was very nearly a direct correlation. This has also been shown within countries.2,3 The Vitamin D Theory The vitamin D MS theory was first proposed by Goldberg in 1974.4 He felt that getting insufficient sunlight to form vitamin D could be the trigger for MS in genetically susceptible people. He calculated, in relation to vitamin D and MS, on the basis of amount of sunshine in areas with little MS, and the rate at which vitamin D is formed in the body, that it would take 3 800 international units of vitamin D daily to prevent the onset of MS. Incredibly, exactly this dose has recently been calculated to be the amount of vitamin D required to maintain a steady reasonable vitamin D level.5 The vitamin D and MS theory has now been revisited and refined.6 Vitamin D is formed in the body from the action of sunlight on the skin. Ultraviolet light consists of ultraviolet A, B and C wavelengths. UVB acts on a chemical in the skin, one of the by-products of cholesterol metabolism, to form other chemicals which then become vitamin D. Vitamin D is intimately involved in the normal growth and development of bone, and in the absorption of calcium from food and its deposition in bone. Vitamin D also has profound effects on the immune system. Vitamin D functions in the body by attaching to a specific receptor in cells. Receptors can be thought of as the locks into which a particular key, in this case vitamin D, fits. These receptors are present on the white blood cells involved in the immune response in MS. So vitamin D plays a part in regulating the immune system. A number of animal experiments have shown that the animal model of MS is either stopped from developing or progressing by giving vitamin D supplements or by UV light therapy.7,8 Vitamin D is intimately involved not only in immune system function, but also brain function.9 It appears that vitamin D has protective effects and immunomodulatory effects in the brain, and is useful in neurodegenerative and neuroimmune diseases, typified by MS. Researchers have concluded that for vitamin D and multiple sclerosis, its immunomodulatory potency is equivalent to other currently used immunosuppressants yet without their typical sometimes severe side effects.10 Back to Top Goldberg’s Study on Vitamin D Supplementation In 1986, Goldberg performed a MS and vitamin D study, supplementing vitamin D in MS patients.11 The numbers in this study were very small. Only sixteen patients were entered into the study. There was no control group, and Goldberg compared the patients’ relapse rates after supplementation with those before. Goldberg gave patients 5 000 units of vitamin D per day. He did this by giving 20g of cod liver oil a day. He also gave large doses of calcium and magnesium. There were 2.7 times as many relapses per year before the supplements than after, with a p value of
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 20:43:47 +0000
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