Sun exposure seems to reduce risk of multiple sclerosisAugust 06, 2003Higher sun exposure during childhood and early adolescence is associated with a reduced risk of multiple sclerosis, finds a study in this week's BMJ. Multiple sclerosis is more common at higher latitudes, which generally have lower levels of ultraviolet radiation. The study was carried out in Tasmania, which is located at high latitude and has a high prevalence of multiple sclerosis. Researchers surveyed 136 patients with multiple sclerosis and 272 controls about past sun exposure, measures to protect against the sun, use of vitamin D supplements, medical history, and other factors thought to be associated with multiple sclerosis. Skin damage and skin colour were also assessed. They found that higher sun exposure when aged 6-15 years (average 2-3 hours or more a day in summer during weekends and holidays) and greater skin damage was associated with a decreased risk of multiple sclerosis. Higher exposure in winter seemed more important than higher exposure in summer and the associations persisted after adjusting for fair skin and exposure after onset of disease, say the authors. They suggest that insufficient ultraviolet radiation or vitamin D, or both, may influence the development of multiple sclerosis. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Related Multiple Sclerosis Current Events and Multiple Sclerosis News Articles Melatonin may save eyesight in inflammatory disease Current research suggests that melatonin therapy may help treat uveitis, a common inflammatory eye disease. The related report by Sande et al., "Therapeutic Effect of Melatonin in Experimental Uveitis," appears in the December issue of The American Journal of Pathology. Researcher tricks immune system in diabetic mice The body's immune system hates strangers. When its security patrol spots a foreign cell, it annihilates it. In the war against diseases, nerve cells need their armor In a new study, researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, and the Université de Montréal have discovered an essential mechanism for the maintenance of the normal structure of myelin, the protective covering that insulates and supports nerve cells (neurons). Intraspinal implant of mesenchymal stem cells may not heal the demyelinated spinal cord Multiple sclerosis is a disease caused by the loss of the myelinated sheath surrounding the nerve fibers of the spinal cord. Multiple sclerosis research charges ahead with new mouse model of disease A new study highlights the role of a charge-switching enzyme in nervous system deficits characteristic of multiple sclerosis and other related neurological illness. Lung airway cells activate vitamin D and increase immune response Vitamin D is essential to good health but needs to be activated to function properly in the human body. Until recently, this activation was thought to happen primarily in the kidneys, but a new University of Iowa study finds that the activation step can also occur in lung airway cells. Type-1 diabetes not so much bad genes as good genes behaving badly, Stanford research shows Investigators combing the genome in the hope of finding genetic variants responsible for triggering early-onset diabetes may be looking in the wrong place, new research at the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests. Phase IIb data show that BG-12 significantly reduced brain lesions in multiple sclerosis Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) today announced the publication of Phase IIb data showing that a 240 mg three-times-daily dose of the company's novel oral compound, BG-12 (BG00012, dimethyl fumarate), reduced the number of new gadolinium enhancing (Gd+) lesions by 69 percent in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) when compared to treatment with placebo (p<0.0001). New hope for multiple sclerosis sufferers A drug which was developed in Cambridge and initially designed to treat a form of leukaemia has also proven effective against combating the debilitating neurological disease multiple sclerosis (MS). Genetic analysis predicts whether liver cancer likely to recur Researchers are poised to unlock the genetic secrets stored in hundreds of thousands of cancer biopsy samples locked in long-term storage and previously thought to be useless for modern genetic research. More Multiple Sclerosis Current Events and Multiple Sclerosis News Articles |
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