Vitamin D is an essential dietary nutrient and plays many important roles in the body to maintain health and prevent many different diseases – it is also a known risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS).
Until recently, there was limited evidence on whether supplementation with vitamin D could alter the disease course in people living with MS. Two large clinical trials were undertaken to look at the influence of vitamin D supplementation on the disease course.
One large randomized clinical trial that took place at centres across the United States looked at whether supplementation with high-dose vitamin D (5,000 international units (IU)) compared to low-dose vitamin D (600 IU) reduced the risk of relapse in people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) who were also taking a disease-modifying therapy (glatiramer acetate). At the end of the 2-year study, they found that supplementation with high-dose vitamin D was safe, but it didn’t reduce the risk of relapses. No other significant differences were found between the vitamin D low- and high-dose groups.
A second large study from Australia and New Zealand explored whether vitamin D supplementation could prevent or delay the development of MS in people with clinically isolated syndrome, who were at high risk of developing MS. They compared different doses of vitamin with up to 10,000 IUs taken over a year. At the end of the study, no differences were found between those who received vitamin D supplementation versus a placebo (no vitamin D).
Findings from these studies among others suggest that high doses of vitamin D were not beneficial in modifying the MS disease course. Low vitamin D levels remain a risk factor for developing MS among other chronic diseases. Everyone is encouraged to follow Health Canada’s vitamin D recommendations for overall health.
To learn more about vitamin D, refer here.
Reference:
- Sandra D Cassard, Kathryn C Fitzgerald, Peiqing Qian, Susan A Emrich, Christina J Azevedo, Andrew D Goodman, Elizabeth A Sugar, Daniel Pelletier, Emmanuelle Waubant, & Ellen M Mowry. (2023). High-dose vitamin D3 supplementation in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a randomised clinical trial. EClinicalMedicine. Link to article – here.
- Helmut Butzkueven, Anne-Louise Ponsonby, Mark S Stein, Robyn M Lucas, Deborah Mason, Simon Broadley, Trevor Kilpatrick, Jeannette Lechner-Scott, Michael Barnett, William Carroll, Peter Mitchell, Todd A Hardy, Richard Macdonell, Pamela McCombe, Andrew Lee, Tomas Kalincik, Anneke van der Walt, Chris Lynch, David Abernethy, Ernest Willoughby, Frederik Barkhof, David MacManus, Michael Clarke, Julie Andrew, Julia Morahan, Chao Zhu, Keith Dear, & Bruce V Taylor, (2024). Vitamin D did not reduce multiple sclerosis disease activity after a clinically isolated syndrome. Brain, Link to article – here.
Additional Resources:
- William Camu , Philippe Lehert, Charles Pierrot-Deseilligny, Patrick Hautecoeur, Anne Besserve, Anne-Sophie Jean Deleglise, Marianne Payet, Eric Thouvenot, & Jean Claude Souberbielle. (2019). Cholecalciferol in relapsing-remitting MS: A randomized clinical trial (CHOLINE). Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation. Link to article – here.
- Raymond Hupperts, Joost Smolders, Reinhold Vieth, Trygve Holmøy, Kurt Marhardt, Myriam Schluep, Joep Killestein, Frederik Barkhof, Manolo Beelke, & Luigi M E Grimaldi. (2019). Randomized trial of daily high-dose vitamin D3 in patients with RRMS receiving subcutaneous interferon β-1a. Neurology. Link to article – here.
- Jan Dörr, Priscilla Bäcker-Koduah, Klaus-Dieter Wernecke, Elke Becker, Frank Hoffmann, Jürgen Faiss, Bernd Brockmeier, Olaf Hoffmann, Kerstin Anvari, Jens Wuerfel, Sophie K Piper, Judith Bellmann-Strobl, Alexander U Brandt & Friedemann Paul. (2020). High-dose vitamin D supplementation in multiple sclerosis–results from the randomized EVIDIMS (efficacy of vitamin D supplementation in multiple sclerosis) trial. Multiple Sclerosis Journal–Experimental, Translational and Clinical. Link to article – here.
- Real Talk MS with Jon Strum. Episode 347: Vitamin D and MS with Dr. Ellen Mowry – Listen here.