Posts Tagged ‘Multiple Sclerosis Campaign’

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Confirmation of association between Multiple Sclerosis, CYP27B1 & Vitamin D

Sunday, July 25th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in External News Articles, Uncategorized

Confirmation of association between multiple sclerosis, CYP27B1 and vitamin D

Multiple sclerosis, MS (OMIM No. 126200), is a complex inflammatory disease that is characterized by lesions in the central nervous system.

Both genes and other environmental factors influence disease susceptibility. One of the environmental factors that has been implicated in MS and autoimmune disease, such as type 1 diabetes, is vitamin D deficiency, in which patients have lower levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-OHD3) in blood than do controls.

Previtamin D3 is produced in the skin, and turned into 25-OHD3 in the liver. In the kidney, skin and immune cells, 25-OHD3 is turned into bioactive 1,25(OH)2D3 by the enzyme coded by CYP27B1 (cytochrome P450 family 27 subfamily B peptide 1) on chromosome 12q13.1–3. 1,25(OH)2D3 binds to the vitamin D receptor, expressed in T cells and antigen-presenting cells. 1,25(OH)2D3 has a suppressive role in the adaptive immune system, decreasing T-cell and dendritic cell maturation, proliferation and differentiation, shifting the balance between T-helper 1 (Th1) and Th2 cells in favor of Th2 cells and increasing the suppressive function of regulatory T cells. Rs703842 in the 12q13–14 region was associated with MS in a recent study by the Australian and New Zealand Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium (ANZgene).

We show associations with three SNPs in this region in our Swedish materials (2158 cases, 1759 controls) rs4646536, rs10877012 and rs10877015 (P=0.01, 0.01 and 3.5 × 10−3, respectively). We imputed rs703842 SNP and performed a joint analysis with the ANZgene results, reaching a significant association for rs703842 (P=5.1 × 10−11; odds ratio 0.83; 95% confidence interval 0.79–0.88).

Owing to its close association with 25-OHD3, our results lend further support to the role of vitamin D in MS pathology.

  1. 1Neuroimmunology Unit, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  2. 2Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  3. 3Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Correspondence: E Sundqvist, Neuroimmunology Unit, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Medicine L8:04, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17176, Sweden. Tel: +46 85 177 6258; Fax: +46 85 177 6248; E-mail: Emilie.Sundqvist@ki.se

Received 4 December 2009; Revised 19 March 2010; Accepted 4 June 2010; Published online 21 July 2010.

http://www.nature.com/ejhg/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/ejhg2010113a.html

Ryan confirms new awareness video coming soon

Monday, June 21st, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

Ryan proudly confirms that he is finalising the script for a new youtube campaign video due early July, the new campaign video will look to expand  on the aims of the SOS campaign and to raise further awareness of vitamin D and the link to MS.

Ryan wants to spread the message of vitamin D and the possible prevention of  MS .

He truly believes that Multiple Sclerosis does not wear a flag and MS crosses borders and unites us all together !  - MS prevention is a global fight – it’s a movement to prevent this disease for children !

More to follow !

Call for vitamin D programme to help fight MS

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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ryantimesonlineScientists studying the high incidence of multiple sclerosis in Scotland have urged the Holyrood Government to introduce a nationwide programme of vitamin D supplements for pregnant women and children to help combat the disease.

Under the heading Vitamin D: hope on the horizon for MS prevention? the June issue of The Lancet Neurology insists the benefits of supplementation outweigh any potential side effects and concludes “given the low costs, low toxicity … steps to tackle vitamin D deficiency in high-risk populations seem warranted.”

Vitamin D is sometimes known as the “sunshine drug”. The new research specifically identifies Scotland among a number of high-latitude countries — with long, dark winters — that have a higher than average incidence of MS. Around 10,500 people in Scotland have the disease which is the country’s most common disabling neurological condition, typically affecting sufferers from their late 20s and 30s.

The Lancet’s intervention follows a succession of studies which have demonstrated the link between Vitamin D deficiency and a number of health conditions, including rickets, type 1 (or early onset) diabetes, heart disease, infectious diseases and some forms of cancer.

The authors of the report concede that the link between Vitamin D deficiency and MS is not definitively proved, but add that assembling data on MS prevention could take decades. They argue that dietary supplement were likely to provide wider health benefits that would quickly result in a reduction in government health spending.

Welcoming the findings, David McNiven of the MS Society Scotland said his organisation would continue to support the Shine on Scotland campaign, lobbying for Vitamin D Supplements.

“The Lancet article is very encouraging because it endorses the arguments that we have been making: that vitamin D supplementation represents a low-cost, low-risk public health intervention with potentially massive benefits,” said Mr McNiven.

The new research leaves little doubt of the wider benefits of supplementation. The authors write: “If the predicted effects of raising serum vitamin D concentrations … are realised, the potential savings have been estimated to be £160 billion from the direct and indirect burden of the disease, set against an expenditure of £8.5 billion on testing and public education.”

The paper concludes: “Because any benefits for MS in particular will take decades to emerge, a long-term outlook is needed from policymakers, but future health and financial benefits have the potential to make this investment highly rewarding.”

Last year, researchers in North America suggested that high doses of vitamin D could dramatically cut the relapse rate in people with multiple sclerosis. According to scientists in Canada, more than a third of sufferers taking high levels of supplementation did not fall ill during the period of the trial, representing a marked change in the pattern of their disease.

Like Scotland, Canada has a high rate of MS and there is growing evidence that this is connected to a cloudy climate, where weaker ultraviolet B rays during the winter months are insufficient for people to produce enough Vitamin D.

Neurologists at the University of Toronto, studied 25 people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. During the year of treatment 40 per cent of patients on the low dose of vitamin D (1,000 international units daily) experienced a relapse compared to only 16 per cent of those in the high dose (14,000 IU daily) group.

People taking the high dose of vitamin D suffered 41 per cent fewer relapses than the year before the study began, compared with 17 per cent of those taking typical doses. Dr Burton found that those taking high doses of vitamin D did not suffer any significant side effects.

The MS Society Scotland has organised an international summit in September, where the link between vitamin D deficiency and the disease will be discussed. They hope to persuade Scottish ministers to take action on vitamin D as a pressing public health issue.

article published by The Times

Low sunlight linked to MS onset age

Thursday, June 10th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

Age of onset of multiple sclerosis was more than two years earlier in patients who lived in northern latitudes — with reduced exposure to the sun in fall and winter — during childhood, researchers found.

Low intake of vitamin D supplements was also associated with earlier onset, according to Joel Culpepper, MD, of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and colleagues.

“This is the first evidence that low sun exposure may be related to early onset of of MS symptoms,” Culpepper told attendees at the meeting of the Joint Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers and America’s Committee on Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis.

Low sun exposure has long been linked to the risk of MS, based on geographic and ethnic patterns in differential MS incidence. To determine if the same was true for age of onset, Culpepper and colleagues recruited 1,167 men and women drawn from the Veterans Administration’s Multiple Sclerosis Surveillance Registry for an extensive interview to determine how much time they spent out in the sun during the fall and winter between the ages of 6 and 15.

Combined with their ZIP code and altitude, this information allowed the researchers to determine the total UV-B exposure during those months.

Vitamin D supplement intake was determined by participants’ recollection of milk, fish, and cod liver oil consumption.

The group of participants was about half women, and included 948 patients with relapsing-remittingMS and 219 with primary progressive form of the disease.

No effect of sun exposure or vitamin D intake was seen in those with primary progressive disease, and no effect was seen in patients with either form who lived in areas of the country that got a lot of sunlight in the winter months. “If you live in a high solar radiation area, such as the deep South, you are probably getting enough exposure even in the deep winter,” Culpepper said.

But in those with relapsing-remitting MS who lived in more northern areas, those in the lowest quartile of exposure, with less than 16 weeks of cool-season exposure, had an age of onset 2.3 years before those in the highest three quartiles (P=0.01).

Age at onset was delayed by three years for regular users of cod liver oil (P=0.01), a potent source of readily available vitamin D. In a multiple regression model, that effect was more pronounced in low-solar radiation areas.

“The link between age of onset and sun exposure is likely through the effect of sun on vitamin D,”Culpepper said.

Childhood through puberty is a critical period of MS risk, he noted. “We believe there is a window of susceptibility” up to the early or mid-teens.

“We need to be able to identify the at-risk individuals, and then intervene in childhood,” he said, but noted that risk is likely to be a combination of genetic, in utero, and childhood effects.

“This is a big challenge for epidemiologists to work out.”

Intervention would be another challenge, he pointed out, since increasing sun exposure without protecting against sun burn increases risk of melanoma. Vitamin D supplementation would be an alternative, Culpepper suggested.

Source: MedPage Today © 2004-2010 MedPage Today, LLC (07/06/10)

Free vitamins extended to more families

Sunday, April 11th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

Free vitamins are being given to children up to the age of four and all pregnant and breastfeeding women, under a new scheme being piloted in Scotland and Wales after the Scotand took the lead in tackling the growing problem of vitamin D deficiency.

The Healthy Start vitamins are currently available to low income families, however availability of the supplements have been well highlighted by 14 year old schoolboy Ryan Mclaughlin who started the ‘Shine on Scotland‘ campaign to get free vitamin D for all kids in Scotland to prevent Multiple Sclerosis.

The 14 year old school boys campaign has now become a global success spread through the social networks and is now known worldwide.  Several countries are now following Scottish Governments lead including Wales and Ireland who announced similar plans to Scotland just last week .

Last week the Welsh Health Minister Edwina Hart said, ‘In the UK, half of all children under five are reported to have not enough vitamin A in their diet and there are several reports of young children suffering from serious vitamin D deficiency. These vitamins are needed for normal healthy growth and development.’

Ryan Mclaughlin said ‘ The problem is even worse than even I first thought, however we are making progress to tackle the issue and the Scottish Government has taken the lead, I am proud to see that Wales and Ireland have followed Scotland on this major health issue’

Results from the pilot will be reviewed after a year, and if shown successful, the programme will be rolled out across Scotland and Wales.

Healthy Start is a UK-wide scheme that provides vouchers to low-income families to spend on milk, fresh fruit and vegetables and infant formula.

The provision of free Healthy Start vitamin supplements has been piloted in three areas of England and in NHS Fife and NHS Tayside in Scotland.

Ryan Mclaughlin said ‘ This is a great start to achieving the goals for free vitamin D for every child in Scotland, however my campaign has now become global campaign and its about more than just scots kids and I am slightly concerned that a few UK politicians are simply against giving away Free Health Start vitamins despite the potential to save the NHS billions over 10 years for a 1p a day investment in our children’.  Ryan insisted ‘I’ll be visiting and educating these politicians over the coming weeks, I will not let this issue slide’.

The MS Society Scotland  is hosting a International scientific summit on vitamin D and the links to multiple sclerosis on the 27th April in Glasgow supported by the Scottish Government.

Scientists find why “sunshine” vitamin D is crucial

Saturday, March 20th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

From Reuters -

Vitamin D is vital in activating human defenses and low levels suffered by around half the world’s population may mean their immune systems’ killer T cells are poor at fighting infection, scientists said on Sunday.

The findings by Danish researchers could help the fight against infectious diseases and global epidemics, they said, and could be particularly useful in the search for new vaccines.

The researchers found that immune systems’ killer cells, known as T cells, rely on vitamin D to become active and remain dormant and unaware of the possibility of threat from an infection or pathogen if vitamin D is lacking in the blood. “When a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device or ‘antenna’ known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D,” said Carsten Geisler of Copenhagen University’s department of international health, immunology and microbiology, who led the study. “This means the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will cease. If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won’t even begin to mobilize.”

Scientists have known for a long time that vitamin D is important for calcium absorption, and that there is a link between levels of the vitamin and diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. “What we didn’t realize is how crucial vitamin D is for actually activating the immune system — which we know now,” Geisler wrote in the study in the journal Nature Immunology. Most Vitamin D is made by the body as a natural by-product of the skin’s exposure to sunlight. It can also be found in fish liver oil, eggs and fatty fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel, or taken as a supplement. Almost half of the world’s population has lower than optimal levels of vitamin D and scientists say the problem is getting worse as people spend more time indoors.

Geisler and his research team said the findings offered much needed information about the immune system and would be of particular use when developing new vaccines. “This is important not only in fighting disease but also in dealing with anti-immune reactions of the body and the rejection of transplanted organs,” they wrote. Active T cells multiply at an explosive rate and as well as fighting infection, can also mistakenly attack the body itself. After and an organ transplant, for example, T cells can attack the new organ as a “foreign invader,” and in autoimmune disease, hypersensitive T cells mistake parts of the body’s own cells as threats, prompting the body to attack itself. Geisler said there were no definitive studies on the optimal daily vitamin D dose but experts recommend 25 to 50 micrograms.

Stars are all coming out for Tiger

Sunday, March 7th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

tiger

Glasgow’s top stars are to appear on stage at a special benefit night for one of the city’s best-loved entertainers.

Pop stars such as Marti Pellow, Midge Ure and Hue and Cry will appear on the bill at the Pavilion theatre in Tribute To Tiger Tim.

All proceeds will go to a special benefit fund to send veteran DJ Tim Stevens, who is battling multiple sclerosis, to Poland for radical new treatment.

Also on the bill will be Tony Roper and Gerard Kelly, who will appear as Francie and Josie, and Tam Cowan.

The glittering event, on Saturday, May 15, promises to be one of the best variety shows in the theatre’s history.

Pavilion boss Iain Gordon said: “There are few people as popular in Glasgow as Tim Stevens.

“When I heard that Tim was having to raise £9,000 to pay for his treatment I figured it shouldn’t be down to him to pay this sort of money out of his own pocket, so I offered up the theatre for a special show.

“It really makes so much sense. Tim once starred here in panto, and as a radio presenter and charity worker he’s given so much to the city.

“It’s fantastic that our top performers are prepared to recognise that. And I’m sure the public will want to enjoy the night and show their appreciation for all that Tim has done for them.”

Tim and his wife Caroline will attend the event, being organised by Wet Wet Wet drummer Tommy Cunningham.

Ex-Radio Clyde DJ Paul Coia will host the event and several other top Clyde DJs will make an appearance.

Tommy said: “Tim Stevens is a man of the people. He’s been a great broadcaster and communicator but, more importantly, he’s a great bloke.

“When I left the band, Tim was one of the first people to call and offer support.”

The evening will also feature filmed messages of support for Tim and show his career highlights.

The finale will feature all the performers on stage for a rendition of the Beatles classic, With A Little Help From My Friends.

TIMES FILE

Tiger Tim’s MS was first diagnosed in the late 1980s and his condition has steadily deteriorated and he now uses a wheelchair.

However, in recent months new hope for MS sufferers has emerged with a surgical procedure called ‘the liberation procedure’.

Tim’s wife Caroline said: “I heard about this treatment from family in Canada and since then we’ve been tracking down more information from Italy, America and Poland before deciding to go ahead. From what we’ve discovered, the results achieved in Poland seem to be incredible.”

The surgery is based on the theory that MS is caused by narrowed veins.

However, there are no guarantees that it will cure Tim. But Tim, 58, who has tried almost every possible ‘cure’ for MS over the years, is optimistic.

He said: “I hope to have some degree of success. But what I want most is to be able to offer some degree of hope to the other 80,000 MS sufferers in Scotland.”

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/editor-s-picks-ignore/stars-are-all-coming-out-for-tiger-1.1011343

OUR FIGHT FOR THE SUNSHINE VITAMIN THAT PREVENTS MS

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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express picture

Daily Express

By Hilary Freeman

JUST two days after landing in Australia for a family holiday, Kirsten McLaughlin began to feel better. The 35-year-old mother wasn’t just enjoying the feel-good buzz we all enjoy on a well-deserved break. Kirsten, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) four years ago, found that her symptoms – particularly her crippling fatigue – had improved in the strong sunshine.

A month later, the family flew back to the UK and Kirsten, a former tae kwon do champion, became just as ill as before. Her son Ryan recalls: “The effects of the sun on mum were amazing. I did some research and found that sunshine produces vitamin D. I also found that Scotland, which does not get much sun, has one of the highest rates of MS in the world.”

Last year Ryan, 14, from Drumchapel, Glasgow, launched the Shine on Scotland campaign. Its aim is to ensure all children and pregnant women in Scotland receive free vitamin D supplements. “I don’t want other people to go through what my mum has been through,” he says. “I believe that taking vitamin D will prevent thousands of people developing MS.”

Ryan’s campaign is backed by many neurologists and author JK Rowling, whose late mother had the disease. It is becoming increasingly clear that vitamin D and some other environmental and genetic factors have a significant role to play in MS.

Until a few years ago scientists had little understanding of what caused the disease. All they knew was it becomes more prevalent the further you are from the equator and that there is a genetic element. It was also thought a virus might trigger the disease.

Recent research, however, means scientists might soon be able to predict those at risk of developing MS and even prevent some cases.

Gavin Giovannoni is a professor of neurology at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry and the co-author of a report into environmental factors affecting MS to be published next month.

“It’s clear one reason some people are more likely to get MS the further they live from the equator is the lack of sunlight,” he says. “The incidence of the disease has been increasing over the past few decades, particularly in women. It’s no coincidence that this has happened at the same time women have begun to avoid the sun and that sunblock has been put in make-up products.”

“Since the Islamic revolution there has been an epidemic of MS in women,” says Professor Giovannoni. “This can only be because they are now covered from head to toe and are no longer exposed to the sun.”

Research has also shown babies born in April or May – who grew in the womb during the winter months – are the most likely to get MS in later life, while those born in November are at much lower risk.

Another study published last year found evidence vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and infancy could increase a child’s risk of developing MS later in life.

The study established a direct relationship between a gene variant known as DRB1*1501 and vitamin D. While one in 1,000 people in the UK are likely to develop MS, this number rises to around one in 300 among those carrying a single copy of the variant and one in 100 of those carrying two copies.

Professor Giovannoni says: “Lack of vitamin D doesn’t cause MS on its own but it’s an important factor. Supplementing with the vitamin could mean some people who are susceptible to MS don’t go on to develop it.

“We’ve also identified a link between MS and the Epstein-Barr virus, which is responsible for glandular fever. If you don’t get the virus, your chance of getting MS is almost zero.

“The problem is 95 per cent of the population is infected with Epstein-Barr at some time. Scientists are working on a vaccine to prevent the virus and if they are successful, it could potentially have a massive impact on rates of MS.”
Dr Susan Kohlhaas, of the MS Society, says: “Researchers have thought for a long time that a combination of genes make some people more susceptible to developing MS.

However these are also common in the general population. Genes are only part of the story though and other environmental factors, such as vitamin D deficiency, exposure to certain viruses and lifestyle factors like smoking have also been implicated in MS.”

The French government has recently begun giving vitamin D to pregnant women. Professor Giovannoni, who says low levels of vitamin D are also implicated in many other diseases such as cancer and Type 2 diabetes, believes the same should be done in the UK.

He says: “We estimate that if you are vitamin D replete throughout your life you can probably lower your risk of developing MS by up to 85 per cent. I am sufficiently convinced to be giving my own daughters vitamin D supplements.”

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/159977/Our-fight-for-the-sunshine-vitamin-that-prevents-MS/

Vitamin D is ray of sunshine for multiple sclerosis patients

Friday, February 19th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

By Melanie Reid – The Times

Multiple sclerosis could be prevented through daily vitamin D supplements, scientists told The Times last night.

The first causal link has been established between the “sunshine vitamin” and a gene that increases the risk of MS, raising the possibility that the debilitating auto-immune disease could be eradicated.

George Ebers, Professor of Clinical Neurology at the University of Oxford, claimed that there was hard evidence directly relating both genes and the environment to the origins of MS.

His work suggests that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and childhood may increase the risk of a child developing the disease.

He has also established the possibility that genetic vulnerability to MS, apparently initiated by lack of vitamin D, may be passed through families.

These risks might plausibly be reduced by giving vitamin D supplements to pregnant woman and young children.

“I think it offers the potential for treatment which might prevent MS in the future,” Professor Ebers said.

“Our research has married two key pieces of the puzzle. The interaction of vitamin D with the gene is very specific and it seems most unlikely to be a coincidence of any kind.”

Warnings over sun exposure could now also be called into question – sunlight allows the body to produce the vitamin.

Professor Ebers said: “Serious questions now arise over the wisdom of current advice to limit sun exposure and avoid sunbathing. We also need to give better advice and help to the public on vitamin D supplements, particularly pregnant and nursing mothers.”

The news has momentous implications for Scotland and other northern countries, where the incidence of multiple sclerosis is the highest in the world. It will give added urgency to recent moves by Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer to consider recommending vitamin D supplements.

Deficiency in vitamin D, caused by lack of exposure to sunshine, has been increasingly linked to the cloudier climate in Scotland and other northern latitudes. The deficiency is twice as common among the Scots as it is amongst the English – and Orkney and Shetland have among the highest rates.

Studies have also shown that fewer people with MS are born in November and more in May, implicating a lack of sunshine during pregnancy.

The breakthrough comes after a groundswell of expert belief in the importance of vitamin D. Last November, at a conference organised by the Scottish Government, international experts urged vitamin D supplements for Scots to be tested “sooner rather than later” to find whether they could improve the nation’s health.

Researchers for the World Health Organisation said there should be large, randomised trials as there was strong evidence that increased daily intake of vitamin D could significantly improve health.

The seminar followed evidence, revealed in The Times, that Scotland’s poor health record has close links to vitamin D deficiency. Last September this newspaper reported evidence from scientists in Canada that children with early symptoms of multiple sclerosis have low levels of vitamin D.

Until now there has been no scientific proof of the links. However, Professor Ebers and his team have shown that vitamin D affects a particular genetic variant, identified as the one that increases the risk of developing MS threefold.

They suggest that a shortage of the vitamin alters this variant, thus preventing the immune system from functioning normally.

Professor Ebers said: “Whether it’s at the core of MS is going to take some further work, but it does look like a reasonably good chance.”

Last October Professor Ebers, in an article in The Times, backed the idea of distributing vitamin D supplements in Scotland to guard against conditions that may be linked to a deficiency, including MS.

“It is plausible that some 200 cases a year of MS might be prevented in Scotland alone by giving vitamin D to mothers and children,” he wrote.

“Over a trial duration of 25 years, 5,000 cases of this disease might be otherwise prevented.

“The economic impact of each person with MS is at least an extra million pounds during a lifetime.

“Over 25 years £5 billion is at issue in this disease without factoring in the human cost, the increasing rate of MS or inflation. A large-scale programme providing vitamin D could provide scientific evidence.

UK Milk Has No Effect On Vitamin D Levels

Sunday, February 14th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

Recent media reports have covered research announced ahead of the American Academy of Neurology’s (AAN) Annual Meeting in April which suggested that milk during pregnancy may lower a baby’s risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life.

The theory from the researchers in Boston, announced in an AAN press release, was based on a survey of American mothers.

It was claimed that MS risk was lower among women born to mothers with high milk or dietary vitamin D intake in pregnancy.

Unfortunately UK media reports focussed on the milk link ; however it is in fact the case that there are only trace elements of vitamin D in milk consumed in this country.

Unlike America, most of Britain’s milk is not fortified with vitamin D and so whatever quantity of milk is ingested, vitamin D levels in the body are likely to remain unaffected.

MS Society Scotland and 14 year old Ryan Mclaughlin announced last week that Scotland will host a international conference on April 27 to discuss the role of vitamin D. The event, to take place in Glasgow, will be opened by Nicola Sturgeon, the Health Secretary. Leading researchers into links between vitamin D deficiency and multiple sclerosis are expected to attend.

Source
Multiple Scleroris Society

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