The Glasgow researchers suggest that a mother’s lack of exposure to sunlight during her unborn baby’s development may explain the results, published in the European Journal of Neurology.

Vitamin D is produced through exposure to sunlight and has been linked to genes thought to be associated with MS. Scientists have suggested that a lack of vitamin D could trigger a predisposition to MS in a person’s genetic makeup.

Director for MS Society Scotland, David McNiven, said: “These intriguing results add weight to the evidence that the environment, and in particular sunlight, plays a part in MS and we’re pleased scientists are piecing together the complex puzzle of what may cause this debilitating condition.”

You may racall from an earlier article that research published in the journal PLoS Genetics suggests that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and the early years may increase the risk of the offspring developing MS later in life. See also the article about megadoses of vitamin D lowering the risk of relapse.

If you live ina temperate climate (as of course they do in Scotland) then it is always worth investing in an artificuial sunlight lamp to give you and possibley your child the best chance for a better life. You can find these in lot of places or go here to  chevk out the sunlight page

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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

Some medications for multiple sclerosis are not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women. So, after they have the baby, women must choose between breastfeeding and going back on their medications.

In one small study, though, women with MS who breastfeed exclusively for two months had a lower risk of MS attacks. Annette Langer-Gould of Kaiser Permanente Southern California:

[Annette Langer-Gould speaks] “While 87 percent of the women who did not breastfeed exclusively had a relapse in the year after giving birth, only 36 percent of the women who did breastfeed exclusively relapsed in that postpartum year.”

Langer-Gould says waiting two months to resume medications may be a good idea, but more research will be needed to establish that.

The report in Archives of Neurology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

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Last revised: June, 24 2009

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