FINDINGS
FINDINGS
Wednesday, December 20, 2006; Page A11
High Levels of Vitamin D Appear To Lower Chance of Developing MS
An abundance of vitamin D seems to help cut the odds of developing multiple sclerosis, according to a study of stored blood samples from more than 7 million members of the U.S. military.
The research found that white people with the highest blood levels of vitamin D were 62 percent less likely to develop multiple sclerosis than people with low levels.
There was no such connection in blacks or Hispanics, possibly because there were so few in the group studied. Also, the body makes vitamin D from sunlight, and the pigmented skin of blacks and other dark-skinned ethnic groups doesn't absorb sunlight as easily as pale skin.
"This is the first large prospective study where blood levels are measured in young adults and compared to their future risk. It's definitely different and much stronger evidence," said Alberto Ascherio of Harvard's School of Public Health, the senior author.
Still, he said the findings do not prove that a lack of vitamin D can cause MS, so it is too preliminary to recommend that people take vitamin D pills to avoid the disease.
The study is in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.
Vitamin D also is found in fortified milk and oily fish, but it is hard to get enough just from diet. Sunlight is the biggest source of vitamin D.
Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs May Help Cut Risk of Advanced Prostate Cancer
The use of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins is associated with a reduced risk of advanced prostate cancer, according to a study being published today.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said using statins did not reduce the chances of getting prostate cancer, just the risk of getting the advanced stage of the disease. Per 100,000 men, advanced prostate cancer was found in 89 cases among those who were not using statins and only 38 cases among those taking the medication, according to the study.
The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, said more research is needed to determine whether statins, which are used to fight heart disease and stroke, directly reduce the risk of advanced cancer.
The study analyzed data from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, examining of 34,989 U.S. men between the ages of 40 and 75 who were cancer-free in 1990.
Increased Risk of Cancers Found In Kidney Transplant Recipients
People who have received kidney transplants face a big increase in risk for a variety of cancers, particularly those caused by a virus, according to a study in today's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The researchers tracked cancer incidence from 1982 to 2003 in nearly 29,000 Australians who received kidney transplants after serious kidney disease.
They found that the patients experienced an overall cancer risk nearly 3.3 times higher after getting a kidney transplant than before.
Lead author Claire Vajdic of the University of New South Wales in Sydney said the findings do not challenge the lifesaving value of kidney transplants for people with end-stage renal disease, noting that the risk of dying is four times higher in patients remaining on dialysis than in those who get a transplant.
Drugs used to suppress the immune system, rather than the organ transplantation itself, are probably responsible for the increase in cancer risk, Vajdic said.
