Some 2.5 million people around the world have multiple sclerosis (MS), a potentially debilitating disease in which the body's immune system destroys the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerves.
This damage interferes with the communication between the brain, spinal cord and other parts of the body, causing symptoms that can range from a mild weakness to an inability to walk or speak clearly. There is no cure for MS, but there are some preliminary data showing that Vitamin D, retinoic acid or Vitamin A, may help alleviate these symptoms.
To determine if Vitamin A could help, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation recently awarded the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) a $900,000 grant to study the role of serum Vitamin A in halting - or at least slowing - disease progression in people with Relapsing-Remitting MS. About 80% of MS patients have Relapsing-Remitting MS, in which new symptoms flare up and then go into remission.
"This grant will jump start this area of research in the United States," said Bijal Mehta, MD, MPH, the lead researcher for the LA BioMed study into Vitamin A. "This will be the first large-scale study of whether higher levels of Vitamin A in the bloodstream may lead to improved outcomes for people who have Relapsing-Remitting MS. If the study finds MS patients with higher levels of Vitamin A have reduced progression of the disease, we could then examine using Vitamin A as an additional treatment."
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