UPDATE 2013:
Dr. Richard Weller of Edinburgh University reports on research finding that when skin is exposed to UV rays for 20 minutes, vasodilating nitric oxide is released. This effect is independent of vitamin D levels--and may explain why even if D levels are raised by supplementation, the full benefit is not received.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/260247.php
Why does this matter to those with CCSVI and MS?
If MS is a disease of hypoperfusion (or slowed blood and CSF flow thru the brain)--than looking at all of the environmental issues which may compound this problem is essential.
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MS and latitude--
There is a most certain link between MS and the amount of sunshine we receive. The connection of higher MS prevalence for those living in northern latitudes has been long-established---based on 30 years of research. This fact is often used to explain why Canada, Ireland and Scotland have higher rates of MS than those who live nearer the equator.
(NOTE-This does not mean living at a northern latitude causes MS. It means there is an environmental link which has been scientifically noted regarding northern latitudes and the prevalence of MS diagnoses.)
There has been a recent surge in published research on the connection of Multiple Sclerosis and UV rays, in relation to vitamin D. The connection is being further elucidated every day. Dr. Embry's Direct-MS has the most complete library of full research papers available online. Here is a link for those who wish to explore Vitamin D more thoroughly:
http://www.direct-ms.org/journalarticles.html
As with most things in life, you can have too much of a good thing. Moderation with UV rays is suggested. Ultra violet rays, or UV, are the sun's rays that give us a nasty sunburn or skin cancer, but they also allow our body to produce vitamin D. The effects of UV rays are being further studied in relationship to cardiovascular health, and the effect on the endothelium.
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Dr. Furchgott and the Discovery of Photorelaxation
I've been reading up on the effect of UV rays on the body, and I came back to the research of Nobel prize winning researcher, Dr. Robert F. Furchgott. He passed away in 2009, and his university keeps his web page online. Dr. Furchgott was a professor at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY---the same place where Dr. Sal Sclafani recently retired and where the first CCSVI conference was held in the US! Here's Dr. Furchgott's page--
http://www.downstate.edu/pharmacology/faculty/furchgott.html
Dr. Furchgott discovered the process of photorelaxation over 40 years ago. What he noted in the lab was that exposure to UV rays changed the endothelium, encouraging nitric oxide production and vasodilation of arteries. In 2009, before he passed, he stated the current working hypothesis--
The present working hypothesis is that light photoactivates some material in the vascular smooth muscle, causing the release of some product which stimulates the guanylyl cyclase to produce cGMP. We are planning experiments to test this hypothesis. One possibility is that the vascular smooth muscle in vivo accumulates some "end pro" formed from the endothelium-derived nitric oxide, and that this product releases NO intracellularly when exposed to the proper wavelengths of light.
Photorelaxation and the Cardiovascular system
Research into the connection of blood pressure and cardiovascular disease in northern latitudes continues....and the connection appears to be that of nitric oxide and UV rays.
http://circres.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/105/10/1031
Interestingly, mean systolic and diastolic pressures and the prevalence of hypertension vary throughout the world. Many data suggest a linear rise in blood pressure at increasing distances from the equator. Similarly, blood pressure is higher in winter than summer.3
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For those who are interested and want to read more research, here's a fascinating paper on UV rays and MS by Dr. Hector DeLuca of the University of Wisconsin.
about the research: For more than 30 years, scientists have known that multiple sclerosis (MS) is much more common in higher latitudes than in the tropics. Because sunlight is more abundant near the equator, many researchers have wondered if the high levels of vitamin D engendered by sunlight could explain this unusual pattern of prevalence.
Vitamin D may reduce the symptoms of MS, says Hector DeLuca, Steenbock Research Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but in a study published in PNAS this week, he and first author Bryan Becklund suggest that the ultraviolet portion of sunlight may play a bigger role than vitamin D in controlling MS.
Here's Dr. DeLuca and Dr. Beckland's full paper.
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/03/02/1001119107.full.pdf+html
I contacted him back in March, sending him Dr. Zamboni's research and contact information, explaining my theory. He was interested....I hope he connects with the doctors in the International Society of Neurovascular Disease.
There may be properties of UV rays which reduce severity of CCSVI and MS symptoms that are still to be elucidated. We are only in the beginning stages, but moderate sun exposure continues to look like a healthy pursuit. For more information on the endothelium and other ways to increase vascular health, here's the research that began my journey in the vascular connection to MS, the Endothelial Health Program, created for my husband Jeff.
http://ccsvialliance.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71&Itemid=112
So, the next time a neurologist or MS specialist tells you that there is no correlation between the northern latitude prevalence in MS and CCSVI....you can casually mention UV rays, photorelaxation, nitric oxide and the endothelium...and then invite he or she to join you for a stroll in the sunshine. :-)
Joan
