Reduced vitamin D status in pregnancy may be a risk factor for the development of eczema in the first year of life, reinforcing the need to explore the role of vitamin D exposure during development for disease prevention.

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BackgroundThe natural history of multiple sclerosis (MS) typically presents with the clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), an episode of neurological symptoms caused by central nervous system inflammation or demyelination that does not fulfil the diagnostic criteria for MS.ObjectiveAs preclinical studies have suggested that exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) could regulate the development of MS, the Phototherapy for CIS (PhoCIS trial) was established to examine the effects of narrowband UVB phototherapy on patients with CIS, and their conversion to MS.MethodsOf the 20 participants, half received 24 sessions of narrowband UVB exposure over eight weeks; participants in both arms were followed for 12 months. All participants were supplemented to 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels of >80 nmol/l.ResultsBy 12 months, 100% of those in the no phototherapy arm and 70% in the phototherapy arm had converted to MS, although this difference was not statistically significant.ConclusionThis study provides a basis for further studies to determine if there are any benefits of the therapeutic effects of narrowband UVB radiation on MS progression.