Vitamin D and Multiple Sclerosis

A complex gene–environment interaction might have therapeutic implications.

The frequency of publications involving the role of vitamin D in neuropsychiatric disorders seems to be increasing exponentially. For example, recent studies have found low vitamin D levels in populations with dementia (JW Neurol Mar 30 2010) and in those with depression (Psychosom Med Jul 1 2010). Now, authors of a review article focus on converging lines of evidence for connections between multiple sclerosis (MS) and vitamin D, which has anti-inflammatory activity and decreases T-cell proliferation. Separately, other researchers report on an early study of high-dose vitamin D in patients with MS.

As many of us remember, MS is more common in latitudes with less sunlight. Handunnetthi and colleagues reviewed studies that have connected this …

Reviewing Author

Jonathan Silver, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNorth American Brain Injury Association (Board Member); National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (Chair of Data Monitoring Safety Board for study of donepezil on cognition after traumatic brain injury)

Jonathan Silver, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience