Genes and other environmental factors are likely to influence MS susceptibility, according to a new study.
One of the environmental factors that has been implicated in MS and other autoimmune disease, such as type 1 diabetes, is vitamin D deficiency, in which patients have lower levels of vitamin D in blood than people without MS.
This study suggests that active vitamin D increases the suppressive
function of regulatory immune cells. The MSRA-funded Australian and New
Zealand Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium (ANZgene) also published
evidence to suggest that the region in which CYP27B1 sits is associated
with MS susceptibility.
Both sets of results lend further to the role
of vitamin D in MS.
Soure: MSRA
Debbie Smart was preparing to relocate to Lesotho, Africa, in June 2005 when she experienced sudden paralysis and loss of sensation from the neck down. This was found to be the result of a neurological lesion and she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
