Researchers testing sunlight for MS cure

New Zealand researchers are testing the hypothesis that sunlight can cure multiple sclerosis, a debilitating condition on the increase around the world, especially in colder climates.

MS is three times more prevalent in Otago and Southland than in the North Island, with a rate of 134 incidence per 100,000 people as opposed to 73 per 100,000 nationally.

This latitudinal trend is reflected throughout the world.

A world-first trial will test the long-held theory that a lack of vitamin D contributes to the prevalence of MS. It will track up to 300 people from Australasia, including up to 100 from New Zealand, who display early symptoms of MS, for two years.

Deborah Mason, a Canterbury-based neurologist who is running the New Zealand side of the study, said some of the subjects would be given vitamin D and others a placebo.

“There are probably a whole lot of things, both environmental and genetic, that come together to cause MS. But we think maybe if we can supplement people’s vitamin D, improving one factor, then maybe the threshold won’t be reached.”

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