The Menzies Research Institute has announced the start of a world first clinical trial that will aim to find whether Vitamin D can prevent the onset of multiple sclerosis (MS). The research will be based in Tasmania, who’s population suffers the highest rate of MS in the country.

 

Launched in Hobart, the PrevANZ study will focus on the possibility of using Vitamin D supplement to prevent a diagnosis of MS following a person’s presentation with the initial symptoms that may elad to a positive diagnosis. It will also test appropriate dosage levels and safety; information that may eventually lead to an effective prevention strategy for MS.

 

The disease, which causes inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, affects as much as 20,000 Australians, with no know cause. However, it is known that a Vitamin D deficiency is now thought to play a major role in some patients.

 

Australian researchers, including Prof Bruce Taylor, of the Menzies Research Institute Tasmania and the Royal Hobart Hospital, have been pivotal in establishing the link between Vitamin D deficiency and MS.

 

"This is the first trial of its kind in the world, to see whether oral Vitamin D supplementation can benefit people who may be in the earliest stages of MS - Australia has a very real opportunity here to help reduce the impact of MS around the world ."

 

While $2.5 million has been secured to commence the trial, and significant funding has been provided by the Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation in its appointment of Prof Taylor as a Research Fellow, a further $1 million is needed to extend the sample size and achieve a robust and conclusive answer.