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.
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
caradiovascular health, and the effect on the endothelium.
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
What does this mean?
Dr. Furchgott's research was in a lab and on rat arteries, not veins.
CCSVI occurs in the veins, and in people (in vivo)....so I may be a bit
early in my theory, but doctors in cardiovascular research are looking
into this connection of UV, enhanced NO production and endothelial
relaxation.
From an editorial on the UV-blood pressure connection by Dr. Christopher Bell
http://hyper.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/31/2/719
As far as I am aware, Furchgott did not suggest on the basis of his work
that ambient light intensity might affect the vasculature in vivo.
Nonetheless, ultraviolet radiation can penetrate deep enough into skin
to reach the microvessels,5 and the cutaneous circulation represents the
site of a substantial proportion of total peripheral resistance.
Although sympathetic tone has the most dramatic controlling influence on
cutaneous vascular flow, it is not unreasonable to imagine that
resting cutaneous vascular tone may under some circumstances also be
tonically reduced by absorbed ultraviolet radiation. Withdrawal
of this dilator effect when adapted individuals are translocated to a
higher latitude could well increase total peripheral resistance and
predispose to elevated blood pressure.
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
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=488879427210&id=110796282297