Assessment of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 concentrations in male and female multiple sclerosis patients and control volunteers

¹ Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), University of Ulster, Coleraine BT52 1SA, Northern Ireland, UK
² Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Research Institute, University of Ulster, Jordanstown BT37 0QB, NorthernIreland, UK
³ MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Fulbourn Road, Cambridge CB1 9NL, UK

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

	Abstract

Populations with insufficient ultraviolet exposure and who consume diets low in vitamin D havelow vitamin D status (plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations) and a reported higher incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS). The active form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitaminD3 (1,25(OH)2D3), is an effective anti-inflammatory molecule. No research to date has assessed 1,25(OH)2D3 concentrations in individuals with MS. In this study, plasma concentrationsof 25(OH)D, 1,25(OH)2D3 and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were measured in 29 individualswith MS and 22 age- and sex-matched control volunteers. There were no significant differencesin plasma PTH, 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D3 concentrations between individuals with MS andcontrol volunteers. Women with MS had significantly higher 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D3 concentrations than men with MS (79.1±45.4 versus 50.2±15.3 nmol/L, P=0.019 and 103.8± 36.8 versus 70.4±28.7 pmol/L, P=0.019, respectively). There was a significant positivecorrelation between 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D3 concentrations in all subjects (r=0.564,P=0.000), but secondary analysis revealed that the correlation was driven by women withMS (r=0.677, P=0.001). Significant sex differences in vitamin D metabolism were observed and were most marked in individuals with MS, suggesting that vitamin D requirements may differ between the sexes, as well as by underlying disease state.

Key Words: 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, multiple sclerosis, vitamin D

First published on February 16, 2007, doi:10.1177/1352458506072666

Multiple Sclerosis 2007;13:670.

A more recent version of this article appeared on June 1, 2007


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Kragt, B. van Amerongen, J Killestein, C. Dijkstra, B. Uitdehaag, C. Polman, and P Lips Higher levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D are associated with a lower incidence of multiple sclerosis only in women Multiple Sclerosis, January 1, 2009; 15(1): 9 - 15. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J Smolders, P Menheere, A Kessels, J Damoiseaux, and R Hupperts Association of vitamin D metabolite levels with relapse rate and disability in multiple sclerosis Multiple Sclerosis, November 1, 2008; 14(9): 1220 - 1224. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S.-M. Orton, A. P Morris, B. M Herrera, S. V Ramagopalan, M. R Lincoln, M. J Chao, R. Vieth, A D. Sadovnick, and G. C Ebers Evidence for genetic regulation of vitamin D status in twins with multiple sclerosis Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, August 1, 2008; 88(2): 441 - 447. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]