by: Jonathan Benson
(NaturalNews) Patients who suffer from recurrent transverse myelitis (TM), neuromyelitis optica (NMO), or various other NMO spectrum disorders, all of which are spinal cord diseases, could be deficient in vitamin D. A new study published in the journal Archives of Neurology has identified a link between recurrent inflammatory spinal cord disease and low levels of vitamin D.
Maureen A. Mealy, RN, BSN, from Johns Hopkins University and her colleagues studied the association between these spinal cord conditions and vitamin D levels in patients with monophasic, or single-stage, spinal cord diseases, as well as those with recurrent spinal cord diseases. They found that vitamin D levels were significantly lower in the recurrent group compared to the monophasic group.
"Our findings suggest that there may be an association between lower total 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in patients with recurrent TM/NMO/NMO spectrum disorders as compared with their counterparts with monophasic disease," wrote the authors. "This is consistent with other recurrent autoimmune conditions and points to a common link between low vitamin D levels and immunologic dysregulation."
Since all such recurrent spinal cord conditions involve severe inflammation that damages tissue and nerve cell fibers, it makes sense that increasing vitamin D levels might help remedy the problem and stop these recurrences. The Vitamin D Council has conducted and compiled extended research on vitamin D, and has already found that this natural hormone plays a key role in mitigating inflammation throughout the entire body (http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/).
The Johns Hopkins team plans to conduct further research into how supplementing with vitamin D, either through increased sun exposure or with vitamin D3 supplements, might help spinal cord disease patients to find relief, and potentially even be cured. But in the meantime, research has already confirmed that boosting vitamin D levels through supplementation is a safe way to improve overall health and prevent disease.
"In humans, vitamin D is critically important for the development, growth, and maintenance of a healthy body, beginning with gestation in the womb and continuing throughout the lifespan," says the Vitamin D Council.