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ME/CFS AUSTRALIA (SA) INC
Registered Charity 698
Email:
sacfs@sacfs.asn.au
Mailing address:
GPO Box 383,
Adelaide,
South Australia 5001
Office:
266 Port Road,
Hindmarsh,
South Australia 5007
Ph: (08) 8346 3237
('834 MECFS')
Office Hours:
Wednesdays, 10am-3pm
Support Line:
(Mondays and Thursdays,
10am-3pm)
Ph: (08) 8346 3237
SA country callers:
Ph: 1300 128 339
(local call)
FIBROMYALGIA HELP: Contact Fibromyalgia SA at the Arthritis Foundation of SA 118 Richmond Road, Marleston 5033 Ph: (08) 8379 5711 |
ME/CFS Australia (SA) Inc supports the needs of sufferers of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and related illnesses. We do this by providing services and information to members.
Disclaimer
ME/CFS Australia (SA) Inc aims to keep members informed of the various research projects, diets, medications, therapies etc. All communication, both verbal and written, is merely to disseminate information and not to make recommendations or directives.
Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed on this Web site are not necessarily the official views of the Society or its Committee and are not simply an endorsement of products or services.
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Vitamin D may be of help in Fibromyalgia
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Vitamin D May Be of Help in Fibromyalgia
GLASGOW -- Only 15% of fibromyalgia patients in a small study had adequate levels of vitamin D, suggesting implications for treatment.
Among a cohort of 36 patients, 28% had levels of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D that were considered deficient, defined as below 25 nmol/L, according to Sekharipuram A. Ramakrishnan, MD, of Our Lady's Hospital in Navan, Ireland.
And 62% of the cohort had levels considered insufficient, between 25 and 80 nmol/L, he reported in a poster session at the annual meeting of the British Society for Rheumatology.
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Previous studies examining the relationship between vitamin D levels and nonspecific musculoskeletal pain have turned in conflicting results.
In some cohorts of patients with fibromyalgia, vitamin D levels were low, while in other groups there were no differences between patients and controls.
Moreover, in some studies, patients with low levels who received supplementation with the vitamin showed no clinical benefit.
"Nonetheless, we do know that vitamin D deficiency is associated with muscle pain, which is why we did this observational study," Ramakrishnan told MedPage Today.
Patients' mean age was 47, and 90% were women.
Serum calcium and alkaline phosphatase levels were normal in all patients, indicating normal bone chemistry.
The study findings must be considered in light of the background population, however, Ramakrishnan said.
"Ireland is not very sunny, and 30% to 40% of all Irish women are deficient in vitamin D," he explained. "We postulate that these patients are staying indoors because of their pain, and aren't inclined to go on holidays in sunny locations because of their disability."
Further work is needed to determine if early detection and replacement of vitamin D may have a therapeutic role in the overall management of fibromyalgia. Therefore, large scale studies of this should be undertaken, Ramakrishnan said.
"We are currently giving all our fibromyalgia patients vitamin D supplements," he added.
The authors had no conflicts of interest.
Primary source: British Society for Rheumatology
Source reference:
Jan A, et al "Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels in patients with fibromyalgia" BSR 2012; Abstract 231.
The above, with comments, originally appeared here.
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