The incredible donation recently announced will effect everyone with MS but it means much more to my own family than just the MS research.

The new Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic will research other diseases and hopefully move towards finding a cure for Motor Neurone, a disease that has effected my family deeply and personally.

My great grandfather John Moore was the first person to be diagnosed with the disease in Scotland.  And only 2 years ago we lost my mum’s uncle who had both Motor Neurone and Parkinson’s which is very rare .

When my own mum took i’ll we feared that it was Motor Neurone and i’ll never forget the fear that I felt. I can only hope this investments in Scotlands health will yield great results and lead to future treatments to improve the outcome.

The previous investments made by Jo into research at the Edingburgh research center is already getting results.

‘I believe the investment puts Scotland firmly at the front of research into finding the cure for MS ‘

This has been in no small part due to the involvement of Jo Rowling

I have renewed hope for what the future holds for my mum and that a cure will be found for her and all the suffers living with these diseases.

Thank you from my family.

Ryan Mclaughlin

Ryan McLaughlin and the Shine on Scotland campaign to prevent MS through a vitamin D supplementation program is highlighted in the annual report of the Scottish Parliament Petitions Committee.

The report states ” Such was this impact that Ryan features on the front of our new petitions Q&A leaflet”, Petitioning the Scottish Parliament: making your voice heard

Ryan felt honored and humbled to be featured on the brochure and in the video,  he is very thankful for the great work that has been done to make a difference for MS by  the members of the committee and the continued support given to him.

‘I hope that other children will be inspired to fight for Scotland and make your voice heard at the Scottish Parliament’.

14 year old Ryan McLaughlin will do a Zip slide from Forth Road bridge to raise money for Glasgow MS Charity!

Ryan McLaughlin from the Shine on Scotland campaign has offered his support and help to the Glasgow based charity Revive MS Support. Ryan McLaughlin will be taking part in ‘Revive MS support’s ” zip line event and he is gathering people from all over Scotland to help him.

Ryan said – I’ve been working very hard on the campaign for the prevention of MS with vitamin D that I just haven’t had any free time to do anything lately for Revive MS support, but when my mum had  a big relapse a couple of weeks ago Revive MS support was right there for us offering support and treatments.

I know its very important that I don’t forget this amazing charity that looks after my mum and i am honored to help, they have been there for our family right from the day she was diagnosed and I can not and will not let them down.

I have asked all the people on my Facebook  group to help me and I’m proud to say that I’ve now got 14 people that offered to come along do the zip slide and raise at least £100 each which will go towards my target of raising £1500.

A lovely couple who have followed my campaign and have became online friends with my mum have even offered to come all the way from the Isle of Man and take part because they have been so inspired by what the ‘Shine on Scotland’ campaign has achieved in raising awareness of MS.

http://www.revivescotland.org.uk/get-involved/26-adrenaline-events/276-davidrevivemssupportorguk.html

The Teenager whose mother inspired him to campaign on multiple sclerosisRyan McLaughlin is just 14 and his mother Kirsten has multiple sclerosis. A link has been suggested between the disease and Vitamin D deficiency. Ryan took up the cause, calling on the Scottish government to raise awareness on the issue. Now, because of Ryan’s efforts, all pregnant women in the country are to be told about the importance of taking vitamin D supplements. Jenni speaks to Ryan McLaughlin, his mother Kirsten, and to discuss the links between MS and vitamin D, George Ebers, Professor of Clinical Neurology and the University of Oxford.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/03/2009_49_fri.shtml

Multiple Sclerosis Society
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Pregnant women are to be educated about the importance of taking vitamin D supplements thanks to a campaign by a 14-year-old Glasgow schoolboy.

Ryan McLaughlin, whose mother Kirsten has the incurable disease, took his case to the Scottish Parliament’s petitions committee earlier this year.

He believes taking vitamin D can help prevent the condition.

In a written response, the Scottish government said it would put in place an action plan to increase awareness.

It said recent research had found there was an “urgent need” to provide information to all health professionals who work with pregnant women and young children about current guidance on vitamin D.

“There is also a need to educate women about the importance of taking vitamin D supplement when pregnant and the importance of giving their children a vitamin D supplement until the age of four,” the response added.

The Scottish government will now agree a co-ordinated programme of action with NHS Health Scotland, and has pledged to keep the McLaughlins informed of developments.

Mrs McLaughlin, a former European Taekwondo champion, was diagnosed with MS two years ago.

Ryan, from Drumchapel, said: “I am so happy to hear that the Scottish government are being so proactive and really getting behind my campaign.

“These actions will make a big difference to the health of generations of Scots, and it will go a long way to giving Scots children some protection against disease caused by vitamin D deficiency and gives parents proper advice.

“I am now looking forward to the summit next year when we’ll hopefully be able to tackle the recommended levels but this is such great news.”

Fortified milk

Ryan became the face of a YouTube campaign to publicise the use of vitamin D, and led hundreds of supporters down Edinburgh’s Royal Mile to Holyrood before he put his proposals to the petitions committee in June.

He told MSPs research into the genetic effect of vitamin D deficiency showed a link to the development of MS. Vitamin D, which the body needs for healthy, strong bones is largely gained through sunlight and food.

The Scottish government has already ruled out free vitamin D supplements for all pregnant and breastfeeding women, and said there were no plans to introduce the supplements in the form of fortified milk or other drinks at school.

Scotland is thought to have the highest rate of MS in the world.

By Hilary Freeman

Sunlight provides Vitamin D – but is weaker in northern countries like Iceland.

Scientists have uncovered increasing evidence of the significance of Vitamin D in the development of multiple sclerosis. Now, Australian researchers have found that Vitamin D may actually reduce its symptoms.

Professor Bruce Taylor, a principal research fellow at the Menzies Institute in Hobart, studied 145 patients in southern Tasmania and tracked their seasonal susceptibility to the disease. He looked at how Vitamin D levels influenced their risk of having an attack of MS.

‘We found that the higher your Vitamin D level, the lower your chance of relapse, and for each ten nanomole [a standard measure of concentration of Vitamin D in the blood] increase in Vitamin D, you can reduce your risk of having an attack of MS by about ten per cent. Doubling your Vitamin D will reduce your risk by up to 50 per cent – a major result.’

Helen Yates, the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre’s chief executive, says: ‘It has long been believed that Vitamin D has a role to play in the risk of developing MS but this new research opens up the strong possibility that this vitamin could impact on relapse rates.’

The MS Society’s research communications officer, Dr Susan Kohlhaas, says: ‘These results are very early-stage and need to be reviewed and validated before we draw any firm conclusions.’

It has been known for many years that the further you live from the Equator, the more likely you are to develop MS. For example, Malaysia has hardly any sufferers but in Scotland and Scandinavia MS is relatively common.

It is believed this is due to a shortage of Vitamin D; countries far from the Equator, such as those in Northern Europe, enjoy less sunshine, the main source of Vitamin D.

Research has shown that babies born in May – who developed in the womb during the Vitamin D-scarce winter months – are the most likely to get MS in later life, while those born in November are at much lower risk.

Another study this year found evidence that Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and infancy could increase a child’s risk of developing MS in later life. The researchers concluded that taking Vitamin D supplements during these times could reduce the risk, although this has yet to be proven.

Friday Oct 16, 2009 (foodconsumer.org) — Results of a new trial presented at an international research conference in Bruges suggest that vitamin D supplementation can reduce the risk of premature births and boost the health of newborn babies, the Times reported Oct 10.

Vitamin D deficiency, which is common everywhere, has been linked in many previous studies to a variety of illnesses from heart disease, cancers,  multiple sclerosis and many others.

In the trial, Dr. Bruce Hollis and Dr. Carol Wagner of the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, gave one group of pregnant women 4,000 IUs per day of vitamin D at about three months of pregnancy. They gave a second group 400 IUs per day, amounts recommended by U.S. and UK governments.

Trial participants were monitored by testing their blood and urine samples to make sure calcium and vitamin D levels were within safe ranges. No side effects were observed in either group and vitamin D levels in the women’s blood increased by about 50 percent.

The researchers found pregnant women who took 4000 IUs of the sunshine vitamin per day reduced their risk for premature birth by half compared to the controls and they were less likely to have small babies.

Women on the high-dose vitamin D3 supplements compared with those on low dose-vitamin D supplementation were at a 25 percent reduced risk for infections, particularly respiratory infections such as colds and flu as well as infections of the vagina and the gums.

Women taking high doses of vitamin D also showed reduced risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, and preeclampsia. In addition, babies getting the most vitamin D after birth were less likely to experience colds and eczema.

In another trial, the researchers found that supplementation of 6,400 IUs per day in breastfeeding women provided infants with sufficient vitamin D for their babies, 400 IUs per day.

“I’m telling every pregnant mother I see to take 4,000 IUs and every nursing mother to take 6,400 IUs of vitamin D a day,” said Dr Hollis. “I think it is medical malpractice for obstetricians not to know what the vitamin D level of their patients is. This study will put them on notice.”

The March of Dimes said Sunday, cited by CNN News, that “more than 1 million babies born

prematurely die each year before they are a month old.” Globally, about 12.6 million babies are born prematurely or before 37 weeks of development in the womb.

This means that taking high dosages of vitamin D, like 4,000 IUs per day as used in the current trial, can save the lives of at least half million babies each year.

Vitamin D is rarely found in foods except in a few fortified with vitamin D and a few in nature such as fatty fish, mushroom and egg yolk. No one should expect to get enough vitamin D from fortified foods like orange juice or milk.

The best source of vitamin D is ultra-violet rays in sunshine which trigger synthesis of vitamin D. Fears of getting skin cancer should out weigh vitamin D deficiency which results in at least 17 types of more serious cancers.

Vitamin D deficiency syndrome is a condition in which a person is found to have less than 25 ng/mL of 25 (OH)D in their blood and also have two or more of the following health conditions: osteoporosis, heart disease, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, certain cancers, depression, chronic fatigue, or chronic pain, according to Dr. John Cannell, a vitamin D expert

Albany Massey University institute of food, nutrition and human health researcher Pamela Von Hurst is doing a study because of a concern about high rates of vitamin D deficiency and low bone mineral density.

Ms Von Hurst has done previous studies on south Asian women who had migrated to New Zealand.

Most reported they avoided the sun because of public health warnings about skin cancer.

She has also investigated the effects of improving vitamin D status through supplementation and the bone health of south Asian women living in New Zealand.

“Previous studies suggest many people are failing to achieve good vitamin D levels and this potentially affects their long-term health,” says Ms Von Hurst.

She recently won a food standards Australia New Zealand award for her work at the New Zealand Dietetic Association’s conference.

“The consequences of inadequate vitamin D are known to extend beyond poor health,” she says.

Ms Von Hurst says it can relate to muscle loss, cancer, heart disease, auto-immune conditions and type 2 diabetes.

For the Kalya study, the team will test the nutritional status of 150 women aged 20 to 29 from European, Indian, Korean and Chinese ethnicities.

They are presently seeking Indian, Korean and Chinese women.

Those interested in the Kalya study can email to register or for more information to kalya_study@massey.ac.nz

MISS Scotland Katharine Brown and DJ Suzie McGuire have signed up to join Celts ace Gary Caldwell in a Bighearted charity climb up Mount Kilimanjaro.

The daring celebs have agreed to take part in the Comic Relief-style trek up the 19,340ft Tanzanian mountain next summer.

We told earlier this month how Hoops defender Gary volunteered for the adventure at our glitzy Bighearted Scotland Awards.

He was impressed with the plan to conquer Africa’s highest peak by award-winners Ryan McLaughlin, 14, and Allan Thomas, 41 – and now Kath and Suzie will join them too.

Kath, 22, from Dunblane, Perthshire, said: “I was thrilled to be asked and immediately said yes.

“I’ve always wanted to climb that mountain – I’m drawn to it.”

Clyde 1’s Suzie, 35, from Eaglesham, Renfrewshire, added: “I’m definitely up for it – but I am nervous.”

Gary, 27, said: “I’m really excited about Kilimanjaro. As long as the dates don’t clash with football commitments I’ll do it.

“There are a couple of others in the dressing room who want to climb it too.”

Aberdonian Allan, who won our Fundraiser of the Year, and Child of the Year Ryan, of Drumchapel, Glasgow, hope the trek will raise £100,000 for the six Bighearted Scotland charities, plus their own causes.

TO sponsor Ryan or the event , email awareness@shineonscotland.org.uk

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/scottish/scottish_showbiz/523973/Katharine-Brown-will-climb-Kilimanjaro-for-charity.html

Read the full story here from the News of the World.