Vitamin D enhance suppressive cytokines but does it stop MS

Ashtari F, Toghianifar N, Zarkesh-Esfahani SH, Mansourian M. Short-Term Effect of High-Dose Vitamin D on the Level of Interleukin 10 in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Neuroimmunomodulation. 2015 Sep 25. [Epub ahead of print]

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. Vitamin D has been related to the prevention of MS and to modulating its course. Recent studies have shown the safety of high-dose vitamin D in MS.
OBJECTIVE:This study compared the effects of high-dose vitamin D on interleukin 10 (IL-10) levels in MS patients in a double-blind, randomized clinical trial.
METHODS:Ninety-four patients with relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) were randomized into a treatment and a placebo group. Both groups received conventional MS treatment. The intervention group received 50,000 IU of vitamin D every 5 days for 3 months. IL-10 was measured at baseline and after 3 months.
RESULTS:Serum levels of IL-10 were (median ± IQR): 12.58 ± 11.97 and 10.97 ± 9.97 pg/ml in the intervention and placebo groups, respectively, at baseline (p = 0.161); after 3 months, these levels were 13.76 ± 18.95 and 11.31 ± 19.63 pg/ml, respectively (p = 0.158). The IL-10 level increased significantly after receiving high-dose vitamin D for 3 months (β = 0.737, p = 0.015 and R2 = 0.91).
CONCLUSION:IL-10 levels increased significantly in RRMS patients after taking high-dose vitamin D3 for 3 months. High-dose vitamin D might be useful in promoting an anti-inflammatory state in RRMS patients.
I was hoping that ProfG was going to post on this one as VitaminD is his thang and he's a glass half-full person. 

So in this study if you take massive amounts of vitamin D your blood levels of interleukin-10 goes for 13pg/ml to 14pg/ml (Whoopee-Do).  Free cytokine in blood means to me the excess to what is needed following binding to the IL-10  receptors on cells. 

To many T cell immunologists, IL-10 is an immunosuppressive cytokine that mediates T regulatory function. However, if you are a B cell immunologist it makes B cells grow. So far IL-10 has not proved to be therapeutically useful.  

However, what does this mean will your MS go away? This is the question we need to ask.  Then we need to ask is when is vitamin D important in the development of MS.

Enjoy the Indian Summer we are supposed to get and remember a few minutes in the sun is going to give you more vitamin D than you get from food & supplements, but remember no more than 15minutes without sunscreen.

Labels: