Taking high dose of vitamin D can stop multiple sclerosis sufferers having a relapse

Published 5 Jan 2016

Taking a high dose of the sunshine vitamin D can stop multiple sclerosis sufferers having a relapse, study found.

The vitamin, known for its importance for bone health, is obtained primarily through sun exposure as well as egg yolks, cheese and fish oil.

MS is a neurological condition which affects around 100,000 people in the UK - one in 600.

The most common symptoms are fatigue, stumbling more than before, pins and needles or numbness, slowed thinking or problems with eyesight.

There is a growing body of research that suggests a lack of vitamin D could be a factor in causing it as people who have MS and low levels of vitamin D are more likely to have greater disability and more disease activity.

Now a new study found vitamin D3, known as Cholecalciferol - a steroid molecule - can help MS patients.

It found Vitamin D3 was a safe way to correct the body's hyperactive immune response.

Vitamin D3 is one of the five forms of nutrient.

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore study involved 40 people with relapsing-remitting MS received either 10,400 IU or 800 IU of vitamin D3 supplements per day for six months.

The current recommended daily allowance of vitamin D3 is 600 IU.

Blood tests were done at the start and then at three and six months to measure the amount of vitamin D in the blood and the response in the immune system's T cells, which play a key role in MS.

There were only minor side effects and one person in each group had a relapse of disease activity.

The people taking the high dose had a reduction in the percentage of T cells related to MS activity.

When the increase in vitamin D in the blood was greater than 18 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml), every 5 ng/ml increase in vitamin D led to a 1 per cent decrease in the percentage of interleukin 17 T cells in the blood.

The people taking the low dose did not have any changes in their T cells.

The optimal level of vitamin D in the blood for people with MS has still to be determined but would be near the high dose level.

Vitamin D levels above 30 ng/ml are considered sufficient for the general population, but for people with MS, it may be that levels above 50 ng/ml are necessary to reduce disease activity.

Professor of Neurology Dr Peter Calabresi said: "These results are exciting, as vitamin D has the potential to be an inexpensive, safe and convenient treatment for people with MS

"More research is needed to confirm these findings with larger groups of people and to help us understand the mechanisms for these effects, but the results are promising."

The study was published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

3 comments

Unregistered member

on 27/01/2016

What if any affect does this procedure have in the life of primary progressive sufferers.

Elysia

on 28/01/2016

I take vitamin D3 supplement because I have been deficient and I just need to keep my levels higher, any one taking steroids should have a vitamin D deficiency test I think, deficiency can lead to all manner of illnesses, its important for my lung health and bone health. Probably any one with a chronic long term illness should be tested for vitamin D3 deficiency.

TedHutchinson

on 21/01/2017

You can read the full text of the study here
Safety and immunologic effects of high- vs low-dose cholecalciferol in multiple sclerosis
If you want to keep a copy clicking the box with ⇣ сохранить статью will download the full text English PDF there is sometimes a letter match spam trap to show you are human.
As we know full-body UVB (Sun or UVB producingTanning lamps) creates 10,000-20,000iu vitamin d3 in a very short time it's not surprising they found 10,400iu daily was safe and effective.

Most people will find that 140 iu daily cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) will raise 25(OH)D fairly quickly (2-3 months) and they can get a 25(OH)D test from NHS CityAssays Vitamin D test to check they have reached 150nmol/l which is the equivalent of 60ng/ml found to be optimal in the above research. When 25(OH)D is in the 125-150 range the daily intake may be reduced to 70 iu daily for each kilogram of bodyweight but it would be wise to test 25(OH)D again in 3-4 months to be sure that hasn't allowed levels to drop. There are a set of charts here Grassrootshealth that will enable you to fine tune your intake to stay around the 60ng/ml 150nmol/l level.

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