NI05
Vitamin A and Race in MS Patients Supplemented for Vitamin D
Previous studies have promulgated the conception that demographic classification (such as gender, ethnicity, race, and age) may correlate to the likelihood of a patient's development of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease of the brain and spinal cord. Furthermore, vitamin D supplementation is theorized to be beneficial in mitigating MS severity. We propose that vitamin A, like vitamin D, may deter MS progression, as retinoic acids derivative of vitamin A have been shown to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines characteristic of the disease.
Objectives:
Thus, the current study aimed to establish any variation in vitamin A levels and other relevant MS-biomarkers in patients of different demographic backgrounds with corrected vitamin D levels.
Methods:
A total of 32 patients were pre-diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and analyzed at baseline. EDSS scores were collected as indicators of disease severity, and vitamin A, vitamin D, carotene, total cholesterol, high-density lipoproteins, low-density lipoproteins, and triglyceride levels were obtained to establish differences in lab values. Patients were categorized by race (13 Hispanic whites, 5 non-Hispanic whites, 14 non-Hispanic blacks), gender (17 female, 15 male), and age (4 born after 1985, 12 born between 1975 and 1985, 16 born before 1975). Those with insufficient vitamin D levels were administered supplements.
Results:
Significant differences were seen when comparing vitamin A levels (P=0.005049) and RBP levels (P=0.015241) between the Hispanic white and non-Hispanic white groups, TGL levels (P=0.028509) between Hispanic white and non-Hispanic white groups, vitamin A levels (P=0.004418), RBP levels (P=0.002565), and TGL levels (P=0.014698) between the non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black groups, and vitamin A (P=0.002565) and RBP (P=0.006692) across all ethno-racial groups. No such distinctions could be made within the gender and age categories (P>0.05).
Conclusions:
Though significant differences in lab values were determined, particularly among the ethnic-race group analyses, the EDSS scores signifying disease severity were indistinguishable. Such lack of significance could be attributed to low sample size and unequal subcategory sizes. Further studies are required to better understand the biochemical disposition (particularly vitamin A disposition) of MS patients with diverse backgrounds.