MS march to shine light on need for vitamin supplement

Published on Tuesday 16 June 2009 09:49

CAMPAIGNERS were set to go on the march in Edinburgh today calling for the widespread introduction of a vitamin D supplement in a move they saw could save thousands of Scottish lives.

Up to 1000 people were set to walk from the Castle down the Royal Mile towards parliament to demand more action to reduce cases of multiple sclerosis.

Scientists have suggested if more people in this country – who are deprived of natural vitamin D from sunlight – were to be given the boost, the high rates of MS could be cut by 80 per cent.

The march has been organised by 14-year-old Ryan McLaughlin, from Glasgow, whose mother has been crippled by the illness.

East Lothian woman Beth Vokurka, 36, who is the fourth generation of her family to suffer MS, will also bring a coach-load of children through from her home village of East Linton to add weight to the campaign.

She was diagnosed at the age of 19, after her mother, grandfather and great-grandmother all died after battling the disease.

The intellectual property management consultant said if she'd been told about the importance of vitamin D she may have been able to reduce the risk of passing on the condition to her two children.

She said: "If I'd known that I was vitamin D deficient, and that by breastfeeding I could be increasing the chances of my children having it, I would never have done it.

"It tears my heart out that this was known generally by the NHS, but no-one thought to pass that on, and there will be other mothers in the same position."

She also took every chance to keep children Ripley, 5, and three-year-old Ashley out of the sun, in keeping with medics' advice, but also ensuring they wouldn't get any Vitamin D – increasing their already proportionally higher chances of contracting MS.

"You don't typically show signs of it until early adulthood, but that's not to say I'm extremely concerned when I look at them," she said.

"The Scottish Government is already looking at this issue, but it's not happening quickly enough. It wouldn't take much to offer the supplements and it's much needed in a country with as little sunlight as Scotland. Israel, Switzerland and France already do similar things, and this march is all about highlighting that need."

MS Society Scotland's new director David McNiven said the march, which was due to leave the Castle at 11am, could have a wide-ranging impact.

"I am delighted to have come into my new post in time to join Ryan, his family and other supporters in the walk to parliament next week," he said.

"The campaign has already had a huge impact on raising awareness of MS in Scotland and the support it has received is tremendous, but now we need to see those kind words turned into action."

POTENTIAL KILLER

MULTIPLE sclerosis affects 10,500 in Scotland, one of the highest proportional rates in the world.

Although research into its causes is relatively young, many scientists point to a lack of Vitamin D as a main cause.

Given Scotland's climate and lack of sunlight, it is thought through winter months two-thirds of us are officially Vitamin D deficient, leaving us more susceptible to the disease.

There are two main types of MS, which attacks the nervous system; relapse and remitting – which remains around the same level for most of a sufferers' life and degenerative, which deteriorates a person's health to such an extent that it is often fatal.