Impact of Vitamin D in Recurrent Transverse Myelitis
MichaelLevy, Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins Universitymlevy@jhmi.edu
Maureen A. Mealy, Baltimore, MD; Dorlan J. Kimbrough, Baltimore, MD; Alexandra Simpson, Baltimore, MD
Submitted July 01, 2014
The potential role of vitamin D supplementation in neuroinflammatory diseases has been of great interest in recent years. Small prospective studies in patients with multiple sclerosis suggest that it may impact relapse rates and/or disease progression, [1,2] and larger studies are currently underway. Less is known about vitamin D in other neuroinflammatory diseases including transverse myelitis and neuromyelitis optica, since only retrospective data analysis has been explored. [3,4] To our knowledge, no study in neuroinflammatory diseases has explored parathyroid hormone (PTH) as a potential correlative measure for development of neuroinflammatory disease or disease progression despite the inverse relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and serum parathyroid hormone (PTH). [5] We agree more research on the impact of vitamin D and PTH in recurrent neuroimmunological diseases is needed.
1. Goldberg, P, Fleming, MC, Picard, EH. Multiple sclerosis: decreased relapse rate through dietary supplementation with calcium, magnesium and vitamin D. Med Hypotheses 1986; 21: 193-200.
2. Wingerchuk, DM, Lesaux, J, Rice, GP, et al. A pilot study of oral calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3) for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2005; 76: 1294-1296.
3. Kimbrough, DJ, Mealy, MA, Simpson, A, Levy, M. Predictors of recurrence following an initial episode of transverse myelitis. Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflammation 2014;1(1): e4.
4. Mealy, MA, Newsome, SD, Greenberg, BM, et al. Low serum vitamin D levels and recurrent inflammatory spinal cord disease. Arch Neurol 2012;69:352-356.
5. Steingrimsdottir, L, Gunnarsson, O, Indridason, O. Relationship betweenserum parathyroid hormone levels, vitamin D sufficiency, and calcium intake. JAMA. 2005;294:2336-2341.
The potential role of vitamin D supplementation in neuroinflammatory diseases has been of great interest in recent years. Small prospective studies in patients with multiple sclerosis suggest that it may impact relapse rates and/or disease progression, [1,2] and larger studies are currently underway. Less is known about vitamin D in other neuroinflammatory diseases including transverse myelitis and neuromyelitis optica, since only retrospective data analysis has been explored. [3,4] To our knowledge, no study in neuroinflammatory diseases has explored parathyroid hormone (PTH) as a potential correlative measure for development of neuroinflammatory disease or disease progression despite the inverse relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and serum parathyroid hormone (PTH). [5] We agree more research on the impact of vitamin D and PTH in recurrent neuroimmunological diseases is needed.
1. Goldberg, P, Fleming, MC, Picard, EH. Multiple sclerosis: decreased relapse rate through dietary supplementation with calcium, magnesium and vitamin D. Med Hypotheses 1986; 21: 193-200.
2. Wingerchuk, DM, Lesaux, J, Rice, GP, et al. A pilot study of oral calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3) for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2005; 76: 1294-1296.
3. Kimbrough, DJ, Mealy, MA, Simpson, A, Levy, M. Predictors of recurrence following an initial episode of transverse myelitis. Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflammation 2014;1(1): e4.
4. Mealy, MA, Newsome, SD, Greenberg, BM, et al. Low serum vitamin D levels and recurrent inflammatory spinal cord disease. Arch Neurol 2012;69:352-356.
5. Steingrimsdottir, L, Gunnarsson, O, Indridason, O. Relationship betweenserum parathyroid hormone levels, vitamin D sufficiency, and calcium intake. JAMA. 2005;294:2336-2341.