Association of Vitamin D Levels With Multiple Sclerosis Activity and Progression in Patients Receiving Interferon Beta-1b.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in the context of multiple sclerosis.

To assess the association between 25(OH)D and disease course and prognosis in patients with relapsing-remitting MS treated with interferon beta-1b.

Why It Was Studied

Serum 25(OH)D measurements were performed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months.

Who Took Part

The study group was 1482 participants.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind and multicenter study.

Because people in this Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

As a double-blind Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

Running at several centres spread the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study over different clinics and patient groups.

The researchers conducted a prospective cohort study assessing 25(OH)D levels and subsequent MS disease course and progression characterized by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical end points.

The study took place between November 2003 and June 2005; data analysis was performed between June 2013 and December 2014.

Clinic visits were scheduled every 3 months, and MRI was performed at baseline and annually thereafter.

What Was Measured

Serum 25(OH)D measurements were performed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months.

The subject headings attached to it are Adjuvants, Immunologic, Age Factors, Disability Evaluation, Disease Progression, Genotype, HLA-DRB1 Chains and Interferon beta-1b.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and multicenter study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 1482 participants in people with multiple sclerosis.

With several hundred people or more, it is a fairly large study for this kind of research.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 8 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2015 (JAMA neurology), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, Multiple sclerosis research.