New link found between MS treatment and vitamin D
(Medical Xpress) -- A new study by researchers at the Menzies Research Institute Tasmania (Menzies) suggests that one of the main treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) may also increase the amount of vitamin D patients receive from sun exposure.
More people suffer with MS per capita in Tasmania than in any other state in Australia. There is currently no cure, but treatments are available to ease some of the symptoms.
This observational study published in the prestigious journal Neurology found that patients taking one of the most common treatments for MS, interferon-beta, had higher vitamin D levels than those not on this treatment or those using other forms of treatment for MS.
Around 60 per cent of MS patients with the relapsing-remitting form of MS are treated with interferon-beta. It is derived from a naturally-occurring component of the human immune system and has been found to reduce the frequency of relapse and other specific symptoms of MS.
Despite being a front-line treatment in MS, how interferon-beta actually works in MS is unclear, though it is thought to act by affecting the immune system.
The study used data from the MS Longitudinal Study, from 2002-2005, and this analysis used data from 178 persons with MS living in southern Tasmania.
Menzies researchers Dr. Niall Stewart and Dr. Steve Simpson, Jr. were co-first authors on the paper. Dr. Simpson says the findings suggest that part of the therapeutic effects of interferon-beta on relapse in MS may be through its effects on vitamin D, since vitamin D has the ability to reduce inflammatory pathways in the immune system.
Not only did we find that persons taking interferon-beta had higher vitamin D levels than those not taking it, we also found that this increase in vitamin D was due to an enhancement of the association between sun and vitamin D, with persons on interferon-beta having nearly three-times as much vitamin D from similar amounts of sun exposure to those not taking interferon-beta, Dr. Simpson said.
We have previously shown persons with MS with higher vitamin D levels had lower numbers of relapses. In this analysis, however, we found that vitamin D was only associated with reduced risk of relapse among those using interferon-beta.
Interestingly, the reciprocal was also true, with interferon-beta only associated with reduced risk of relapse among those with higher levels of vitamin D, Dr. Simpson said.
Senior author, Professor Bruce Taylor, says the new findings have the potential to markedly affect clinical practice in the treatment of MS, but cautions that more research is required.
This study adds to the growing body of research into MS, but before we can apply these findings to MS treatment practice, clinical trials must be done to prove these associations. Menzies is planning to undertake such a trial in the future, Professor Taylor said.
This study does provide further support for persons with MS to periodically have their vitamin D measured, particularly in winter, and if they are deficient, to seek the advice of their physician as to whether supplementation is appropriate for them.
The MS Longitudinal study was funded by the National Health & Medical Research Council, the Trish Foundation and the University of Tasmania.
Journal reference:
Neurology
Provided by
University of Tasmania
-
High-dose vitamin D may not be better than low-dose vitamin D in treating MS
Oct 24, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Breakthrough in the search for new treatments for multiple sclerosis
Jun 21, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Gene variant may increase severity of MS
Aug 02, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Poor bone health may start early in people with multiple sclerosis
Jul 11, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study: MS drugs help, but come at high cost
Jul 20, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
How can there be villous adenoma in colon, if there are no villi there
7 hours ago
-
How can there be a term called "intestinal metaplasia" of stomach
May 21, 2013
-
Pressure-volume curve: Elastic Recoil Pressure don't make sense
May 18, 2013
-
If you became brain-dead, would you want them to pull the plug?
May 17, 2013
-
MRI bill question
May 15, 2013
-
Ratio of Hydrogen of Oxygen in Dessicated Animal Protein
May 13, 2013
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
Researchers analyse hunting behaviour of fish larvae in virtual reality
Moving objects attract greater attention – a fact exploited by video screens in public spaces and animated advertising banners on the Internet. For most animal species, moving objects also play a major ...
Neuroscience
1 hour ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
Signs of motor disorders can appear years before disease manifestation
It is known that signs of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease can appear years before the disease becomes manifest; these signs take the form of subtle changes in the brain and behavior of ...
Neuroscience
1 hour ago |
not rated yet |
0
Taming suspect gene reverses schizophrenia-like abnormalities in mice
Scientists have reversed behavioral and brain abnormalities in adult mice that resemble some features of schizophrenia by restoring normal expression to a suspect gene that is over-expressed in humans with ...
Neuroscience
2 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Scientists uncover molecular roots of cocaine addiction in the brain
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have unraveled the molecular foundations of cocaine's effects on the brain, and identified a compound that blocks cravings for the drug in cocaine-addicted mice. The compound, already proven safe ...
Neuroscience
2 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
Addiction as a disorder of decision-making
New research shows that craving drugs such as nicotine can be visualized in specific regions of the brain that are implicated in determining the value of actions, in planning actions and in motivation. Dr. Alain Dagher, from ...
Neuroscience
4 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Enzyme-activating antibodies revealed as marker for most severe form of rheumatoid arthritis
In a series of lab experiments designed to unravel the workings of a key enzyme widely considered a possible trigger of rheumatoid arthritis, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that in the most severe ...
Research offers promising new approach to treatment of lung cancer
Researchers have developed a new drug delivery system that allows inhalation of chemotherapeutic drugs to help treat lung cancer, and in laboratory and animal tests it appears to reduce the systemic damage ...
Overeating learned in infancy, study suggests
In the long run, encouraging a baby to finish the last ounce in their bottle might be doing more harm than good.
Study details genes that control whether tumors adapt or die when faced with p53 activating drugs
When turned on, the gene p53 turns off cancer. However, when existing drugs boost p53, only a few tumors die – the rest resist the challenge. A study published in the journal Cell Reports shows how: tumors that live even i ...
Children of married parents less likely to be obese
Children living in households where the parents are married are less likely to be obese, according to new research from Rice University and the University of Houston.
Researchers rewrite obsolete blood-ordering rules
Johns Hopkins researchers have developed new guidelines—the first in more than 35 years—to govern the amount of blood ordered for surgical patients. The recommendations, based on a lengthy study of blood use at The Johns ...