News
BBC, UPI - Rare gene links vitamin D and multiple sclerosis
Published: 8 December 2011
A rare genetic variant which causes reduced levels of vitamin D appears to be directly linked to multiple sclerosis, says an Oxford University study. UK and Canadian scientists identified the mutated gene in 35 parents of a child with MS and, in each case, the child inherited it. Researchers say this adds weight to suggestions of a link between vitamin D deficiency and MS. The study is in Annals of Neurology.
Oxford University researchers, along with Canadian colleagues at the University of Ottawa, University of British Columbia and Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ University, set out to look for rare genetic changes that could explain strong clustering of MS cases in some families in an existing Canadian study.