Mar
8
(NaturalNews) Researchers from Oxford University and the University of British Columbia have discovered that Vitamin D deficiency affects a section of the human genome already linked with multiple sclerosis (MS) risk, adding further weight to theories that this vitamin deficiency might play a role in development of the disease.
“Here we show that the main environmental risk candidate — vitamin D — and the main gene region are directly linked and interact,” said co-author George Ebers.
The study was published in the journal PLoS Genetics.
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In the current study, researchers examined a portion of chromosome six known to play a role in MS risk — the risk is three times higher among those carrying one copy of the DRB1*1501 gene variant on this chromosome, and 10 times higher among those carrying two. They found that proteins activated by vitamin D bind to and alter the functioning of a section of the chromosome right near this gene. This suggests that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy might alter the function of fetal genes, predisposing children to MS.
“Our study implies that taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy and the early years may reduce the risk of a child developing MS in later life,” lead researcher Sreeram Ramagopalan said.
read the rest via Multiple Sclerosis Caused by Vitamin D Deficiency.
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