Vitamin D prevents multiple sclerosis through multiple mechanisms – Jan 2013

Contribution of vitamin D insufficiency to the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis

Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders January 23, 2013 1756285612473513
Charles Pierrot-Deseilligny cp.deseilligny at psl.aphp.fr, Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI), Paris, France
Jean-Claude Souberbielle. Université René Descartes (Paris V), Paris, France

The contribution of vitamin D insufficiency to the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) is reviewed. Among the multiple recently discovered actions of vitamin D, an immunomodulatory role has been documented in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and in humans.

This action in the peripheral immune system is currently the main known mechanism through which vitamin D might influence MS, but other types of actions could be involved within the central nervous system. Furthermore, vitamin D insufficiency is widespread in temperate countries and in patients with MS at the earliest stages of the disease, suggesting that the deleterious effects related to vitamin D insufficiency may be exerted in these patients.

In fact, many genetic and environmental risk factors appear to interact and contribute to MS. In genetics, several human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles (more particularly HLA-DRB1∗1501) could favour the disease whereas some others could be protective.

Some of the genes involved in vitamin D metabolism (e.g. CYP27B1) also play a significant role.

Furthermore, three environmental risk factors have been identified:

• past Epstein–Barr virus infection,
• vitamin D insufficiency and
• cigarette smoking.

Interactions between genetic and environmental risk or protective factors may occur during the mother’s pregnancy and could continue during childhood and adolescence and until the disease is triggered in adulthood, therefore possibly modulating the MS risk throughout the first decades of life.

Furthermore, some clinical findings already strongly suggest that vitamin D status influences the relapse rate and radiological lesions in patients with MS, although the results of adequately powered randomized clinical trials using vitamin D supplementation have not yet been reported.

While awaiting these incontrovertible results, which might be long in coming, patients with MS who are currently in vitamin D insufficiency should be supplemented, at least for their general health status, using moderate doses of the vitamin.

Vitamin D decreases associated with MS progression

Factors which decrease or increase the probability of MS

Reduction in MS releapse rate with increasing vitamin D (nmol)

    Plateau = 110-150 nmol = 44-60 ng

MS and Genes

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PDF is attached at the bottom of this page

See also VitaminDWiki

• Overview MS and vitamin D
  • includes Controversy: Which is better: UV or Vitamin D
• All items in category MS and vitamin D 412 items
• Multiple Sclerosis – many reasons to believe Vitamin D can prevent and treat it – Feb 2018
• Multiple Sclerosis risk factors – Vitamin D, parasites, and EBV – 2015
• Multiple Sclerosis and vitamin D – Systematic Review inconclusive Jan 2013
• Vitamin D can both prevent and treat Multiple Sclerosis – review Nov 2012
• Hypothesis of Autoimmunity which includes Epstein-Barr Virus and Vitamin D Deficiency – 2012 note: Barr Virus mentioned above
• Epigenetics, vitamin D, and Multiple Sclerosis
• Clinical trials for MS and Vitamin D INTERVENTION 28 as of Jan 2016

Short url = http://is.gd/msvitdJan13