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Higher vitamin D levels may benefit multiple sclerosis patients

Category: Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and Treatment

Multiple sclerosis can lead to a significant degree of physical and mental disability, but new research indicates that maintaining higher vitamin D levels may help patients avoid severe limitations. These individuals may benefit from blood testing for vitamin D.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, presented evidence at the recent annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology suggesting that multiple sclerosis patients who maintained high levels of the nutrient over a five-year study period had lower rates of disability than those with lower levels, according to Family Practice news.

Lead researcher Ellen Mowry said that patients with the neurological condition should receive supplements of between 2,000 and 4,000 international units of vitamin D per day to achieve the greatest benefit.

"The preponderance of the observational evidence is in favor of supplementing, and I think those levels are the most strongly supported by the data," she said, according to the news source.

This recommendation is for significantly higher levels than what the Institute of Medicine says healthy adults should get. The advisory agency's guidelines state that most adults should consume 400 international units of vitamin D per day.