Below is the link I mentioned in previous post. Animal model of MS demonstrates single dose of calcitriol followed by ongoing vitamin d supplementation more effective than standard MS meds currently used.
http://www.news.wisc.edu/22163
Quote…
“In search of a better option for MS patients, a team of UW-Madison biochemists has discovered a promising vitamin D-based treatment that can halt — and even reverse — the course of the disease in a mouse model of MS.
The treatment involves giving mice that exhibit MS symptoms a single dose of calcitriol, the active hormone form of vitamin D, followed by ongoing vitamin D supplements through the diet. The protocol is described in a scientific article that was published online in August in the Journal of Neuroimmunology.
Hayes' team compared various vitamin D-based treatments to standard MS drugs. In each case, vitamin D-based treatments won out. Mice that received them showed fewer physical symptoms and cellular signs of disease.
"All of the animals just got better and better, and the longer we watched them, the more neurological function they regained," says biochemistry professor Colleen Hayes, who led the study.
Hayes' team tried a weekly dose of calcitriol. They found that a weekly dose reversed the disease and sustained remission indefinitely.
But calcitriol can carry some strong side effects — it's a "biological sledgehammer" that can raise blood calcium levels in people, Hayes says — so she tried a third regimen: a single dose of calcitriol, followed by ongoing vitamin D supplements in the diet. This one-two punch "was a runaway success," she says. "One hundred percent of mice responded."
Hayes believes that the calcitriol may cause the autoimmune cells attacking the nerve cells' myelin coating to die, while the vitamin D prevents new autoimmune cells from taking their place.
While she is excited about the prospect of her research helping MS patients someday, Hayes is quick to point out that it's based on a mouse model of disease, not the real thing. Also, while rodents are genetically homogeneous, people are genetically diverse.” End Quote.
Virtually every MS treatment began as an experiment in mice EAE, an animal model of MS. Will a single dose of calcitriol followed by D supplementation become a treatment option in the US?
Too early to know. Phase 1 trial, Phase 2 trial, and Phase 3 trial… could possibly take 10 years or more. Of course, no one is going to fund a Phase 3 non-profitable trial in the US; more likely overseas, IMO.
Really fascinating that this vitamin D regimen was more effective than MS meds in EAE where all MS meds get their start.
http://www.news.wisc.edu/22163
Quote…
“In search of a better option for MS patients, a team of UW-Madison biochemists has discovered a promising vitamin D-based treatment that can halt — and even reverse — the course of the disease in a mouse model of MS.
The treatment involves giving mice that exhibit MS symptoms a single dose of calcitriol, the active hormone form of vitamin D, followed by ongoing vitamin D supplements through the diet. The protocol is described in a scientific article that was published online in August in the Journal of Neuroimmunology.
Hayes' team compared various vitamin D-based treatments to standard MS drugs. In each case, vitamin D-based treatments won out. Mice that received them showed fewer physical symptoms and cellular signs of disease.
"All of the animals just got better and better, and the longer we watched them, the more neurological function they regained," says biochemistry professor Colleen Hayes, who led the study.
Hayes' team tried a weekly dose of calcitriol. They found that a weekly dose reversed the disease and sustained remission indefinitely.
But calcitriol can carry some strong side effects — it's a "biological sledgehammer" that can raise blood calcium levels in people, Hayes says — so she tried a third regimen: a single dose of calcitriol, followed by ongoing vitamin D supplements in the diet. This one-two punch "was a runaway success," she says. "One hundred percent of mice responded."
Hayes believes that the calcitriol may cause the autoimmune cells attacking the nerve cells' myelin coating to die, while the vitamin D prevents new autoimmune cells from taking their place.
While she is excited about the prospect of her research helping MS patients someday, Hayes is quick to point out that it's based on a mouse model of disease, not the real thing. Also, while rodents are genetically homogeneous, people are genetically diverse.” End Quote.
Virtually every MS treatment began as an experiment in mice EAE, an animal model of MS. Will a single dose of calcitriol followed by D supplementation become a treatment option in the US?
Too early to know. Phase 1 trial, Phase 2 trial, and Phase 3 trial… could possibly take 10 years or more. Of course, no one is going to fund a Phase 3 non-profitable trial in the US; more likely overseas, IMO.
Really fascinating that this vitamin D regimen was more effective than MS meds in EAE where all MS meds get their start.
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