The Role of Vitamin D in Multiple Sclerosis: An Interaction Between Genes and Environment

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative chronic inflammatory disease with neurological and cognitive manifestations which involves the central nervous system. The etiology of it is unknown, however, it appears several factors like genetic factors, environmental factors and their interactions play key roles in the development of MS. Many studies show that vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for MS disease. In the 21st century, about 1 billion people worldwide are vitamin D deficient. In this article, mechanisms which are associated with protective roles of vitamin D in MS based on epidemiological, immunological, experimental, molecular and clinical studies are discussed.