Posts Tagged ‘scotland’

Read this page in:


« Older Entries

City vigil calls for Precious to stay

Saturday, July 17th, 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in External News Articles, Uncategorized

Supporters and friends of a 10-year-old girl and her mother fighting to stay in Scotland are to stage a vigil in the city the pair call home.

Precious Mhango, 10, and mum Florence, 32, were ordered to fly to London last Saturday and then on to Malawi, despite the pair saying they faced “extreme difficulties” if forced to return.

The pair, from Cranhill, chose not to board the flight and now face being detained then deported.

The vigil, which will be held on Monday on Glasgow’s Buchanan Street, aims to raise awareness of the Mhangos’ plight.

Glasgow SNP MSP Anne McLaughlin, who has been campaigning for Florence and Precious to be allowed to stay in Scotland, is helping to organise the event.

She said: “On Monday at 5.30pm, in conjunction with the Unity Centre, we are holding a Glasgow Fair Monday vigil for Florence and Precious.

“The vigil will take place at the top of Buchanan Street, at the bottom of the steps outside the Royal Concert Hall.

“We will be asking – on Fair Monday – what is fair about separating a mother and child?”

Florence and Precious – real name Tionge – entered Britain in May 2003, as dependants of Ms Mhango’s husband, who was in the UK on a student visa.

They had leave to remain until October 31, 2007.

Florence said her husband had been violent towards her in the past, but she hoped that a new life in London would bring a change.

When the violence continued she fled to Glasgow to stay with a friend.

The split from her husband meant she had no right to remain in Britain.

That means Florence, and Precious, who came to Britain aged three, have been told to return to Malawi.

In Malawi, grandchildren can be claimed by the father’s family and Florence now fears she will lose her daughter forever.

Ms McLaughlin, who has become a close friend of the family, added: “I would appeal to those of you who are able to be there, to come and show your support.

“This is not a political demonstration but a peaceful humanitarian vigil for two human beings who need our love and support.

“Therefore, although I expect many politicians and activists will be present, the speakers will be Florence and Precious’ friends.

“The people who know them best.”

More than 1,300 letters have been written to Home Secretary Theresa May urging her to allow the Mhangos to stay.

First Minister Alex Salmond and Glasgow Lord Provost Bob Winter are among the family’s supporters

A host of Glasgow MSPs, including Patricia Ferguson, Labour MSP for Maryhill and Bill Butler, Labour MSP for Anniesland, have spoken out, urging the UK government to let the family stay.

Vitamin D deficiency cases in Scotland quadruple in seven years

Friday, July 2nd, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

THE number of Scots children being treated for vitamin D deficiency complaints such as rickets has almost quadrupled in seven years.

And it’s not just poor children who are suffering – there are cases from middle class families, too.

The shock findings come in a study at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Yorkhill.

It found 160 youngsters were admitted with vitamin D deficiency between 2002 and 2008.

A total of 42 cases were reported in 2008, compared to just 11 in 2002.

The researchers warned serious vitamin D deficiency in children is on the increase, leading to fractures and fits as well as bowed legs.

They say the figures are likely to be an underestimate of the true scale of the problem, which is present “across the community”.

Faisal Ahmed, lead author of the study, said the rise could be partly due to greater awareness of vitamin D deficiency.

The professor of developmental endocrinology at Glasgow University added: “The bottom line is we are seeing a lot of cases and it is most likely that these are not all the cases.”

The children were aged between two weeks to 14 years old and had bowed legs, fractures, limb pain, fits and even heart problems.

The majority of the children were admitted between the months of March and August and were from South Asian, Middle Eastern or sub-Saharan Africa ethnic backgrounds.

Professor Ahmed said there were “quite a lot” of Scots deficient in vitamin D, which is mainly created by the action of sunlight on the skin.

One plan would see vitamin D tablets handed out to families.

source

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/health-news/2010/07/02/vitamin-d-deficiency-cases-in-scotland-quadruple-in-seven-years-86908-22376764/

Vitamin D on horizon for MS prevention?

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

25.05.10

The Lancet Neurology contains a review of evidence on vitamin D deficiency as a possible risk factor for MS

The lancet

The worldwide prevalence and incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) are on the increase. The need for strategies to prevent this devastating disease is therefore greater than ever. As highlighted in a Review in this issue of The Lancet Neurology, vitamin D deficiency might be an important modifiable risk factor for MS.
This raises the question of whether population-wide supplementation programmes might be a reasonable prevention strategy.

Vitamin D deficiency is especially common in high latitude regions, such as northern USA, Canada, northern Europe, and New Zealand, where weaker ultraviolet B rays during winter months are insufficient for people to produce enough vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency has traditionally been linked to bone diseases such as rickets; in addition to MS, links with other diseases such as type 1 diabetes, heart disease, infectious diseases, and some types of cancer are now emerging.

Pregnant women, young children, and the elderly are at the greatest risk. Vitamin D deficiency might also adversely affect disease course in many disorders, including MS, although evidence for this is less robust.

The main sources of vitamin D are sunlight and diet, but many people do not get sufficient amounts, so dietary supplements are required.

The current recommended daily intake of vitamin D is typically 200—400 IU/day in Europe, and in the USA and Canada, where some foods are fortified with vitamin D, the recommendation is for 200—600 IU/day.

The US National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine is currently reviewing the dietary reference intakes for vitamin D and calcium and is due to report its recommendations at the end of summer 2010.

Expert recommendations for optimum serum vitamin D concentrations range from 50 nmol/L to 100 nmol/L; the total daily need for vitamin D, from sunshine, diet, and supplementation, to achieve this concentration is thought to be 1000—4000 IU/day, depending on factors such as age, geographical region, and health status. The risks of taking high doses of vitamin D are thought to be low, and the main concern of overdose is hypercalcaemia.

However, given that an adult who spends 20 min in summer sunshine can produce an oral intake equivalent of about 10 000 IU/day, the suggested dose of 1000—4000 IU/day is unlikely to be toxic.

Recent evidence suggests that prolonged intake of 10 000 IU/day (and even up to 40 000 IU/day) poses no risk for adults. So far, the evidence for a protective effect of vitamin D on MS largely comes from ecological and observational studies, although evidence is accumulating on possible mechanisms linking vitamin D deficiency and autoimmunity.

Large-scale, long-term randomised controlled trials on high-dose vitamin D supplementation would be needed to definitively establish a protective effect and to identify any unexpected long-term complications. But it could take decades before data on MS prevention become available.

In the meantime, because the risks seem to be low, is there already a case for widespread vitamin D supplementation?

Scotland is one such region where the prevalence and incidence of MS, and other diseases related to vitamin D deficiency, are already so high that the benefits of supplementation are likely to outweigh any potential side-effects. During an upcoming summit in Scotland, hosted by MS Society Scotland and resulting from the Shine on Scotland campaign, researchers will present the case to Scottish Government officials for vitamin D supplements to be made freely available for all young children and pregnant women.

As vitamin D is an inexpensive supplement, the potential cost savings of such a programme are enormous, and in addition to MS, might have implications for numerous diseases linked to vitamin D deficiency.

In Europe, if the predicted effects of raising serum vitamin D concentrations to 100 nmol/L are realised, the potential savings have been estimated to be €187 billion per year from the direct and indirect burden of disease, set against an expenditure of €10 billion on testing and public education.

As well as the possible health benefits, such a supplementation programme might provide important research opportunities to understand the long-term effects of vitamin D.

Trials are needed to address the numerous questions that remain to be answered about dosing levels, potential long-term complications, and causal mechanisms, among others. In the meantime, given the low costs, low toxicity, and possible beneficial effects of supplementation programmes, steps to tackle vitamin D deficiency in high-risk populations seem warranted.

Because any benefits for MS in particular will take decades to emerge, a long-term outlook is needed from policy makers, but future health and financial benefits have the potential to make this investment highly rewarding.

*********************************************************************

I would like to thank the The lancet for its brilliant work undertaken for our future children health and to be done by a highly regarded institution – is just amazing .

I am honored and forever grateful.

Thankyou – Ryan McLaughlin
Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Limited. All rights reserved. The Lancet ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier Properties S.A. used under licence.

White House Task Force will look at vitamin D deficency in childhood obesity

Sunday, May 16th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized
YouTube Preview Image

The US First Lady Michelle Obama has recognised the risks of vitamin D deficiency in a official report to the US President Obama and ordered a task force will now tackle the issue head on for the Lets Move campaign!

15 year old Ryan McLaughlin from the ‘Shine on Scotland’ said its really great news and it will help in the fight against vitamin D deficency . Ryan also said:  that back in February this year he posted an amazing story on the First Lady and the emotion behind a new campaign that she was planning called Lets Move.

The First Lady’s story has touched me personally Ryan said ‘when I read the First Lady speak of her emotion that she felt in watching her fathers fight with MS now sadly gone I felt her pain. I have followed it now for months in hope that she would get involved in raising the massive vitamin D deficency problem in the US.

I have been long campaigning in the US to put pressure on the USDA to lift the recommended daily amount of vitamin D and of course raise awarenesss of vitamin D and the link with MS using social websites facebook and twitter. I watch for the latest news hoping for an announcement and when it came this week I was over the moon.

Now I hope to hear the USDA announce much awaited new RDA figures very shortly, it will help in my campaign for vitamin D for every Scottish child in the aim of preventing future cases of Multiple Sclerosis in Scotland.

The First Lady Michelle Obama and the US Government are taking this very seriously indeed and investing a $1 billion a year in federal funding to this campaign, in such financially hard times its a very big message they want action and results.

It’s a brilliant campaign and it will have a roll on effect for other diseases such as MS and I am sure that with amazing news like this hopefully it will highlight the problem in the UK and hope that a new focus will be placed on funding of further research studies and clinical trials into vitamin D.

In a recent study it was again show that vitamin D can help lessen symptoms in people with MS so its so even more important to me now that I get action taken to help my mum !

I am proud to say that the Scottish Government has took the problem seriously for many months and with a little more work i’ll continue to campaign and raise awareness for MS so we can get even more Governments to look at it. My campaign has managed to lead to some movement already from the Governments in Wales and Ireland earlier this year!

The Scottish Summit on vitamin D will happen in September, planning is underway by the great team at MS Society Scotland and the Scottish Government.

Please have a look at the amazing Lets Move campaign website and help spread the word by following link below

http://www.letsmove.gov/

Vitamin D could save NHS £17.6 Billion a year!

Sunday, April 25th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

SD531020

A Statement From Cancer Research UK

The Government’s view:

Professor Mike Richards, National Cancer Director, kicked off the session. He acknowledged that the UK spends less on healthcare as a whole than many other European countries. On top of this, we spend proportionally less on cancer care than many of our EU counterparts.

According to the latest figures, around 5 per cent of the NHS spend is on cancer, equating to around £76 per head each year in England…

Clearly there is a need to increase spend in the NHS on cancer – particularly when the demographics and new advances in cancer drugs are taken into account. As the population ages, cancer is getting more common – Professor Richards commented that the incidence of the disease is increasing at a rate of around 1.5 per cent each year. This means there will inevitably be more people needing cancer care services.

And with great strides in cancer research, many new drugs and diagnostic tests are coming through – offering new hope to people touched by cancer – but at a price. On top of this, the NHS needs to consider the increasing cost of follow up care for cancer survivors (’survivorship care’) – as more and more people survive cancer.

So cancer care costs are certain to increase in the future, and these will need to be met through boosting spending and efficiency in the NHS.

Compare the £76 per head spent on Cancer alone by the NHS to the cost of effective supplementation with Vitamin D3 – approximately £10 per head, per annum.

Now factor in Diabetes:

The NHS is spending £1m an hour, 10% of its yearly budget, treating diabetes and its complications, according to a new report.

Despite advances in detection and treatment, incidence of the disease – which causes heart attacks, stokes and blindness – is spiralling.

GPs are still missing telltale symptoms which mean the disease may remain undetected for many years until irreversible damage has been done, said campaigning charity Diabetes UK.

Some 2.3million people in the UK are already diagnosed but the charity estimated the number of diagnosed and “hidden” diabetics will top 4million by 2025.

The report also revealed one in 10 people in hospital in the UK have diabetes and 60% of inpatients with diabetes have been admitted as emergencies. The total cost to the NHS equates to £9bn-a-year.

Source: The Guardian.

This is another £140 per head of the UK population on diabetes…

Now factor in heart disease… allergies… influenza treatment and deaths… parkinsons… multiple sclerosis…

How about depression? – another £140 per head UK population per annum. from the estimated cost in 2000:

The total cost of adult depression was estimated at over £9 billion

Source: Imperial College

So we can spend £10 per year on D3 supplements per head of the UK population and reduce NHS spending by say 75% of these amounts (conservatively) – meaning a saving of £271 per head per annum on Cancer, Diabetes and Depression alone. Cancer, diabetes and depression and Schizophrenia are pretty much unknown at the equator.

This amounts to a saving to the NHS potentially of £17.6 billion per annum at a cost of around £650 million for appropriate D3 supplementation and testing… that’s quite a sum.

Are you getting the picture as to why the Pharma industry is deliberately overplaying the dangers of Vitamin D supplementation? They can’t patent Vitamin D and they stand to stand to lose an awful lot of money if people are healthy.

Shine on Scotland campaign

Glasgow schoolboy Ryan Mclaughlin has been campaigning for over a year and making his voice heard loud and been seen worldwide, fighting for vitamin D supplementation or the fortification of milk or bread as it could save 2000 people from the misery of MS in Scotland over 10 years and it could save the UK economy £4 Billion for MS alone !

Ryan said ‘I am so pleased to hear that Cancer Research UK have now compiled financial figures for the UK in relation to savings from a national supplementation program of vitamin D.

I constantly campaign for vitamin D for MS via my website. I also try and publicise other diseases like Cancer and

only aware that we need to get the correct message out to the public in relation to sun safety and the results and risks for disease like MS and Cancer.

MS is a truly terrible disease sadly with no cure in sight and causing untold misery for those with the disease but also the families often young children who become carers like myself .I completely recognise that Cancer kills every day in the UK, we must work together to get the right public message message across to the UK public.

Recent studies in Australia have shown that the skin cancer message promoted in the 1960’s called ‘The Slip Slap Slop campaign‘ has possibly contributed to rising figures of MS in OZ despite the abundant sunshine they have’ .

The same outcome is also being seen in the rising rates of MS in countries that encourage covering up for religious reasons and are now seeing MS figures rising steeply – so we must get the correct safety message out to the public !

Nobody wants to pay for a large scale clinical trial not even the Government, firstly we will wait almost 20 years for get real results for MS due to the fact that it strikes in the 20’s and 30’s, secondly there is no profit in it for the big drug companies – who are the usual funders of such expensive trials.

Its is so cheap and safe to provide it that I believe that we should just get on with it and I am not alone so do the best scientists a country has to try it and I believe that Scotland should do it as we have the worst rates of MS in the world and it will help with general health its a winner !

I am sure if the drug companies could make a profit from it they would be at the front of the line fighting for VITAMIN D and promoting its benefits to the world!

I’m trying to get the UK politicians to realise we need different thinking and get them on board to tackle such a big issue.

Vitamin D has the potential to save not only life’s, but untold daily suffering and pain as well as saving the UK billions!

Just 1p a day per child is all it would cost to provide it to every child and pregnant mother – I believe we should invest in our children now and I’m trying hard to sell that to the political parties!

“We are the future of this country and all we ask is that you protect us from a serious disease as we have a right to live a full life without the fear of MS’

It is truly time to act on this and I believe the all UK political parties will recognise the issue and act and get behind me with for the people.

The Sunshine Vitamin

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

Sustainable Scotland

Vitamin D , sometimes known as the sunshine vitamin because the body manufactures it in response to sunlight on the skin, is increasingly being thought of as important in preventing a variety of chronic illnesses. Vitamin D deficiency is now a strong suspect in Scotland’s poor health record, which gives it some of the highest rates of heart disease and cancer in Europe and, overall, chronic disease in the world. Another obvious characteristic of Scotland is its weather. Its geography and the Gulf Stream combine to give it a particularly damp, overcast climate where sunlight levels can be as low as parts of the Arctic Circle.

George Ebers, Professor of Clinical Neurology at the University of Oxford, can claim there is hard evidence of a causal link between genes and the environment to multiple sclerosis. In a genetic study for the Wellcome Trust he reports “We have known a long time that genes and environment determine MS risk . . . Here we show that the main environment risk candidate – vitamin D – and the main gene region are directly linked and interact.” Scotland has one of the highest incidences of MS in the world.

Shine on Scotland, supported by BUPA, are campaigning to have all school milk fortified with vitamin D. Campaigners would like legislators to allow GPs to recommend higher doses of vitamin D supplementation and to correct the current scare over sunlight (it is burning which is bad for the skin and heightens the risk of skin cancer. Regular, sensible exposure is healthy and has even been associated with improved moods).

Dietary sources of the vitamin are liver (which is very rich in vitamin A, which is essential for good health but is toxic in high doses, so stick to once a week); oily fish such as herring, catfish, salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna and eel; eggs; dairy produce; and fortified margarines and cereals. The perennial supplement cod liver oil is an excellent source as well as having been confirmed as the best provider of omega 3 oils. Choose good quality capsules or bottled oil.

If making an effort to consume meaningful quantities of vitamin D is a way of slashing Scotland’s shocking health stats (and the evidence just keeps stacking up) then let’s get on with it.

“Our study implies that taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy and the early years may reduce the risk of a child developing MS in later life,” says Dr Sreeram Ramagopalan, lead author of the Ebers study. “Vitamin D is a safe and relatively cheap supplement with substantial potential health benefits. There is accumulating evidence that it can reduce the risk of developing cancer and offer protection from other autoimmune diseases.”

In addition, campaigners suggest, all milk, bread and orange juice should be fortified, negating the necessity for individuals to remember to take a ‘pill’.

One wonders how much distress and waste of money could be avoided by adding tiny amounts of this inexpensive substance to more of our diet.

DID YOU KNOW?

Figures for the UK published by Cass Business School , City University London, state that the cost of treating coronary heart disease is £3.5 billion, with costs of £3.1 billion attributable to lost working days; cost of stroke £2.3 billion; hypertension, which is under-reported, £0.8 billion; diabetes, £1.3 billion; and COPD, £1 billion.

The UK RDA (recommended daily amount) is five micograms, equivalent to 200 IUs (International Units). This is half that of the EU and the US RDAs. Campaigners and experts want this to be revised upwards and for clarity (the Food Standards Agency and BUPA, for instance, are giving contradictory advice).

OUR FIGHT FOR THE SUNSHINE VITAMIN THAT PREVENTS MS

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

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.

Schoolboy proud of vitamin D campaign

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

ryanandkirsten

heraldscotland staff

Published on 9 Feb 2010

A schoolboy who petitioned the Scottish Parliament about possible links between vitamin D and multiple sclerosis has said he is proud of what he had achieved.

Ryan McLaughlin, 14, took his case to Holyrood’s Public Petition Committee last summer.

The petition called on ministers to produce new guidelines on vitamin D supplements for children and pregnant women, along with an awareness campaign about the issue.

The Scottish Government has now agreed to support and host a summit in April on the role of vitamin D and to produce the guidance on supplements.

Ryan took up the cause after watching his mother Kirsten suffering the incurable disease.

The Public Petitions Committee has greed to close his petition.

Ryan said afterwards: “After an amazing year in raising both vitamin D and MS awareness, I now have the commitments that I wanted from the Scottish Government.

“I applaud the positive action taken by the Scottish Government and the support from Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Shona Robison, Health and Sports Minister.”

Ryan’s local MSP Bill Butler hailed the campaigning schoolboy’s achievement, saying “a very great deal of progress” has been made.

The Glasgow Anniesland MSP praised how “Ryan and the McLaughlin family have persuaded the Government and the Government has listened to the very sensible suggestions contained in the petition”.

He said: “The Government has agreed to a co-ordinated programme of action with NHS Scotland to produce guidance on vitamin D, to educate women on its importance, to consider different messages for different groups of people and to ensure that health professionals are giving correct and consistent advice to pregnant women and new mothers in relation to vitamin D.”

He described that as a “significant success”, and added: “It’s people listening to what is a very sensible set of suggestions from someone whose personal circumstances have convinced him that there is need for reform here.

“It’s a success story.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “We’re keen to learn all we can about any possible links between vitamin D and multiple sclerosis and are keeping a very close eye on all the emerging evidence.”

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/politics/schoolboy-proud-of-vitamin-d-campaign-1.1005227

Milk in pregnancy may lower MS risk

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

Mothers-to-be can reduce their babies’ risk of developing multiple sclerosis in later life by drinking milk, research suggests.

The link emerged from a study of 35,794 female nurses whose mothers provided information about their diet during pregnancy. Of the nurses taking part, 199 developed multiple sclerosis (MS) over a 16-year period.

The researchers found that the risk of MS was lower among women born to mothers who drank a lot of milk while pregnant. A similar trend was seen for vitamin D. Mothers who had a relatively high vitamin D intake during pregnancy also gave birth to daughters with a reduced risk of MS.

Dr Fariba Mirzaei, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, US, who led the study, said: “The risk of MS among daughters whose mothers consumed four glasses of milk per day was 56% lower than daughters whose mothers consumed less than three glasses of milk per month.

“We also found the risk of MS among daughters whose mothers were in the top 20% of vitamin D intake during pregnancy was 45% lower than daughters whose mothers were in the bottom 20% for vitamin D intake during pregnancy.”

She added: “There is growing evidence that vitamin D has an effect on MS. The results of this study suggest that this effect may begin in the womb.”

Exposure to sunlight, oily fish such as salmon and mackerel and fortified milk are key sources of vitamin D.

The research was presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in Toronto, Canada.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5h6LXkXVsMbkT6Jpc603zVlyiX4Qg

« Older Entries

Categories

Archives