This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

g1 diggy. i wish there were lots of studies like this for many more nutrients!

i'm assuming mmol is a typo (and 'mmo/L' for that matter)... someone back me up? do i hear nmol? anyone?

Bueller? Bueller? Yes legs, I think you're right about nmol.

Is there a reason why they give Calcium together with the Vit D3?
Does one need more Calcium when supplementing Vit D3?

Thanks
--Frank

hi frank, D3 needs calcium to work with. it's counter-intuitive, but you take the calcium to keep your blood calcium down while you take vitamin D.

my understanding is, that a finding of hypercalcemia indicates that high D3 is pulling calcium from the bones into the serum.

the study above helps allay this concern by demonstrating that very high doses of D3 (accompanied by daily calcium supplementation) failed to induce hypercalcemia. it's very useful to know that 1200mg of calcium can keep even such high doses of D3 from elevating serum calcium.

i have a chart of vitamin D3 studies from the 80s, showing that 50,000IU/d of vitamin D3 for 6 weeks took the serum calcium well outside the top end of the reference range.

Welp,
here's a puzzle for the vitamin D/sunshine folks. My active, outdoorsy Californian husband, dx with MS 3/07, saw a dermatologist and had three spots of basal cell carcinoma removed from his face and abdomen. He got alot of sunshine as a kid, and burns easily since he is very fair and freckled. Looks like he got too much sunshine...on his skin.

He's fine, the basal cell areas were surgically removed (ouch), and because he got prompt treatment, he should be OK.

My husband has had optic nerve drusen (fatty deposits) since childhood. He has no peripheral vision and very bad night vision. Perhaps his level of vitamin D was affected by the sunlight taken in through the eye, and not just the skin. Maybe his drusen blocked those all important light rays from hitting the retina.

So here's my thought...perhaps it's also the amount of sun which reaches the brain thru the eye via melanopsin (a light detecting protein in the eye), that can affect vitamin D levels.

I know, I'm wandering...but I still think sunshine/vitamin D/the pineal gland and melatonin are in the MS equation.

enough rambling,
AC

oh, yeah...
and how about this in the news today?

Overnight shift to be classified as probable cancer cause....

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/11/29/ni ... index.html

more with sunshine/melatonin/health....

ok, I'm done
ac

how's your hubby's serum retinol?

Hey Jimmy...

Knew you'd come thru! I was really grasping last night....I've never spent so much time in drs. offices until this year. There's so much going on at once- my husband jokes he is now an "official science fair project."

Serum retinol- that's vitamin A levels, right? We have some blood work coming up (for liver function) I'll ask the doc if she can test some vitamin levels, as well. He's on a bunch'o antioxidants and supplements.

in the mean time, everyone- keep wearing sun screen.
best,
AC

lol! i think we all feel a bit like some kind of odd experiment! perhaps ask about his zinc level too? if it's too low it could mess up utilization of retinol.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 223302.htm

--Frank

The article makes references to a Trevor Marshall. I would say he is the originator of the marshal protocol. There are many sites that place his theories in strong doubt. From memory, his Ph'D is not within medicine.

Trevor Marshall received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Western Australia in 1984

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Marshall

For what it is worth--
My physician at Vanderbilt recommends 5000 IU of vitamin D daily. Looks like differing opinions.
Lori

from page 7 of "mega D" under "regimens":

CureOrBust
Family Elder
Joined: Jul 28, 2005
Posts: 956
Location: Sydney, Australia

PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:50 pm

Quote:
Vitamin D deficiency, long interpreted as a cause of disease, is more likely the result of the disease process, and increasing intake of vitamin D often makes the disease worse. "Dysregulation of vitamin D has been observed in many chronic diseases, including many thought to be autoimmune," said J.C. Waterhouse, Ph.D., lead author of a book chapter on vitamin D and chronic disease (2). "We have found that vitamin D supplementation, even at levels many consider desirable, interferes with recovery in these patients."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/94642.php

Although, the name "Marshal" (in other parts of the article) is worth a second check...

and I just did. Trevor Marshal is the same name as the guy pushin the Marshal Protocol. Apply salt liberally.

CureOrBust
Family Elder
Joined: Jul 28, 2005
Posts: 956
Location: Sydney, Australia

PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:57 pm

Vitamin D2 Is As Effective As Vitamin D3 In Maintaining Concentrations Of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D
Quote:
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that vitamin D2 is equally as effective as vitamin D3 in maintaining 25-hydroxyvitamin D status. The study appears online in the December 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/92952.php

jimmylegs
Family Elder
Joined: Mar 12, 2006
Posts: 1121
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 12:57 am

an interesting set of contradictions, but that's what the process is about

would be a good idea to compare the methodologies out there that evaluate efficacy of D2 and D3 and arrive at opposite conclusions.

re: the disease process, i've heard that concept voiced regarding uric acid too, that levels are down as a result of the disease process. now i think it is a pretty ridiculous assertion when you talk about something like vitamin D, which clearly varies with sun exposure regardless of disease, and which is clearly supplemented through natural dietary ingestion, never mind pills. again, i'd be interested to see the methodologies that arrive at opposite results. and which form of ingested D was used when negative impacts were noted. without having seen specific research, i'm relatively confident that ingested D is pretty damned useful in the arctic.

Quote:
Supplemental vitamin D has been used for decades, and yet the epidemics of chronic disease, such as heart disease and obesity, are just getting worse

i'd suggest that could be because the supplementation amounts to date have merely been aimed at prevention of rickets, and have not been implemented in sufficient levels to deal with other chronic diseases.

at first glance, these articles appear to be pretty good at leaving out some inconvenient portions of the picture![/i]

If it looks like a duck...
This guy lives down the 101 from me in so cal. Not sure how he can teach in Australia. That's some commute!! He's a mechanical engineer, lots of stuff about antennae and synthesizers on his site-
Here's his website.

http://trevormarshall.com

My husband is a California boy, born and raised in sunshine. Has the basal cells to prove it! Yet his MS and low serum vit. D point to some disregulation in his processing of Vit. D. He uses a sun lamp in his office and takes supplemental vit. D-3 (neuro recommended) and will continue to do so....
AC