Vitamin D deficiency may hurt patients with recurrent spinal inflammation
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Americans who want cheap dietary supplements may find them through an online Canadian pharmacy. Nutrient deficiencies from a poor diet can have negative effects on one's health. New research from Johns Hopkins University suggests that chronically low levels of vitamin D may be tied to recurrent attacks of certain inflammatory spinal conditions.
Though it is widely known that vitamin D is essential to a strong skeleton, more attention has been surrounding this nutrient's relationship to autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, according to the research team. This prompted them to investigate the role of vitamin D for two diseases: transverse myelitis (TM), which affects the myelin sheath of spinal cord neurons, and neuromyelitis optica (NMO), which hurts the spinal cord and eyes.
The researchers measured vitamin D levels in 77 patients who either had recurrent attacks of TM or NMO, or endured only one phase of their disease.
Results showed that those who were deficient in the nutrient were more likely to have repeated attacks, as published in the journal Archives of Neurology.
"This is consistent with other recurrent autoimmune conditions and points to a common link between low vitamin D levels and immunologic dysregulation," the researchers wrote.
Further studies are needed to assess the effects of vitamin D supplementation on these conditions, they said.
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