Multiple sclerosis Diagnosis : Discover The Link Between Vitamin D Deficiency And Ms
Multiple sclerosis Diagnosis : Can a deficiency of Vitamin D both in the womb and after birth increase the risk of MS?
A recent study by scientists at Oxford and British Columbia Universities has shown that the risk of developing multiple sclerosis could be linked to vitamin D levels and a variation in a specific gene.
Worldwide there are over 2.5 million people who suffer from MS, an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system starts to attack the myelin sheath, the protective coat around nerve cells.
Basically, in autoimmune diseases your immune system is confused and cannot tell the difference between a body protein and an “unfriendly” foreign invader.
Past research has shown that levels of vitamin D in the blood of MS sufferers is lower than normal, and epidemiological studies suggest that the further away from the Equator we live, the higher the chance of developing MS.
This follows from the link between exposing your skin to sunshine and levels of vitamin D, so that some people living in North European countries like Finland have a higher risk profile.
Until recently it was not clear how this vitamin works with the immune system, but this latest study sheds new light on the problem.
It seems that people carrying one type (or allele) of the gene called HLA-DBR1 are at greater risk of developing MS.
This gene, found on chromosome 6 in the human genome has over 400 different alleles, and evidence suggests that in the UK people with the DRB1*1501 variation are up to three times more likely to develop MS.
It seems that vitamin D sets off a switch in the DRB1*1501 variant of this key gene. But here’s the interesting bit. This vitamin D trigger is not found on other types of the HLA-DBR1 gene not linked with multiple sclerosis.
So what action could you take if you find you are carrying this special DRB1*1501 variant of the above gene?
Well you need to make sure you increase your exposure to sunshine, which is particularly a problem in the winter months, especially in northern latitudes.
You may also want to take a careful look at your diet and see if you can boost intake of certain foods which contain this vitamin, such as eggs, oily fish, margarine and breakfast cereals.
And thirdly it is possible to take a vitamin D supplement just to make sure that you get sufficient coverage.
Tags:Ms,Multiple Sclerosis,Vitamin D
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