25-hydroxyvitamin D3 concentration in serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with remitting-relapse multiple sclerosis.

There is epidemiological, geographical and immunological evidence suggesting that low environmental supplies of vitamin D3 may act as a risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis (MS), possibly due to dysfunction in the immunomodulatory properties of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-OH-D3) in the brain. The objective of this study is to measure the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of 25-OH-D3 in MS patients during their relapsing phase. 52 patients with remitting-relapse and 58 patients with other non-inflammatory diseases of central and peripheral nervous system were entered into the study. Patients in both groups were admitted for the first time to do diagnostic procedures and they were not on any other treatment for neurological disorders. The means and medians for serum levels of 25-OH-D3 in MS patients and control group were 10.64 ± 9.2 ng/ml (median: 9.6 ng/ml) and 13.23 ± 17.56 ng/ml (median: 11.90 ng/ml), respectively (p=0.328). CSF concentrations for the same values were 2.02 ± 1.94 ng/ml (median: 0.23 ng/ml) and 3.28 ± 2.96 (median: 0.29 ng/ml), respectively (p=0.242). The differences between calculated numbers of serum/CSF ratios were not statistically significant too. The serum and CSF concentrations of 25-OH-D3 in MS group were lower than the control counterpart without any statistical difference and the authors did not find any influence of serum 25-OH-D3 concentration on the CSF concentration based on the non-significant statistical difference between the serum/CSF ratios in two study groups of MS patients and control cases.