Australian scientists have found that Vitamin D may slow the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). Figures showing that people living in Tasmania are seven times more likely to develop MS than Queenslanders had suggested a link between sunlight exposure and the disease. Researchers at the Menzies Institute have now found that taking more vitamin D may also reduce the symptoms of the disease.
"In the study we did in Tasmania, we looked at people who had MS and we looked at how their own vitamin D levels influenced their risk of having an attack of MS, which is referred to as a relapse," he said.
"What we found was that the higher your vitamin D, the lower your chance of relapse and we found that for each 10 nanomole increase in vitamin D which is a standard measure of concentration of vitamin D in the blood, you can reduce your risk of having an attack of MS by about 10% and therefore doubling your vitamin D will reduce your risk by up to 50% which is really a major result."
The findings will be tested in a larger clinical trial throughout Australia over the next few years.
