Definitions:
- Multiple Sclerosis: Nervous disorder where people suffer from a loss of Myelin Sheath
- Myelin Sheath: a layer which surrounds nerve fibers
- Vitamin D: The primary Vitamin in sunlight
Summary:
Recent studies have lead to the discovery that lack of sunlight (Vitamin D) can lead to a disorder called multiple sclerosis in pregnant women. Multiple sclerosis affects the baby's nervous system and immune system; they don't develop properly, so the baby is left with a nervous disorder. Research was done in Children's Hospital in Melbourne and Australian National University in Acton about this strange disease to track the source and find a cure. Multiple sclerosis develops in the first three to four months of pregnancy. When a pregnant mother doesn't have enough Vitamin D, her unborn child is most likely to develop MS; studies in Australia show that babied born in mid-months of winter (November-December) have a 32% greater chance of of developing MS, whereas babies born in the mid-months of summer (May - June) have a much less risk of developing MS. 1,524 patients were tested to receive accurate data, and upon analysis, scientists can draw the conclusion that Vitamin D plays a key role in the development of MS in pregnant women.
Recent studies have lead to the discovery that lack of sunlight (Vitamin D) can lead to a disorder called multiple sclerosis in pregnant women. Multiple sclerosis affects the baby's nervous system and immune system; they don't develop properly, so the baby is left with a nervous disorder. Research was done in Children's Hospital in Melbourne and Australian National University in Acton about this strange disease to track the source and find a cure. Multiple sclerosis develops in the first three to four months of pregnancy. When a pregnant mother doesn't have enough Vitamin D, her unborn child is most likely to develop MS; studies in Australia show that babied born in mid-months of winter (November-December) have a 32% greater chance of of developing MS, whereas babies born in the mid-months of summer (May - June) have a much less risk of developing MS. 1,524 patients were tested to receive accurate data, and upon analysis, scientists can draw the conclusion that Vitamin D plays a key role in the development of MS in pregnant women.
Discussion
I found this article very interesting; as neurology has always fascinated me, this article appealed to me very much.Vitamin D is a vitamin which is often treated as less important than the others just because you get it from sunlight. But it is a serious problem to have a Vitamin D deficiency. This makes you stop and think--not only does sunlight play a role in photosynthesis, like we are learning right now, but it can also lead to major nervous diseases! Hopefully, in the future, more research will be done so that MS can be prevented.
I found this article very interesting; as neurology has always fascinated me, this article appealed to me very much.Vitamin D is a vitamin which is often treated as less important than the others just because you get it from sunlight. But it is a serious problem to have a Vitamin D deficiency. This makes you stop and think--not only does sunlight play a role in photosynthesis, like we are learning right now, but it can also lead to major nervous diseases! Hopefully, in the future, more research will be done so that MS can be prevented.
Questions
- If too little sunlight can cause a serious nervous disorder, can an excess of sunlight do the same?
- If a vitamin D deficiency is not so uncommon in the winter, are there any supplements pregnant women can take to prevent Multiple Sclerosis?
Citations
- United Press International Inc. "Lack of Sunlight Increses MS Risk." Science
Online. N.p., 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 15 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.fofweb.com/Science/default.asp?ItemID=WE40>. - Multiple Sclerosis Nerve. N.d. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2010.
<http://chattahbox.com/images/2009/06/multiple_sclerosis_nerve.jpg>.
4 comments:
Your summary is very good, but what do you mean by nervous disorder - does that mean that the child is jumpy and is surprised by every little sound, does that mean the child might have problems with its nervous system, meaning that the child might not be able to move its body/feel pain in certain areas, does that mean that the child is nervous and shy - EXPLAIN - DETAILS
Your discussion has good ideas and thoughts, but not a lot of actual detail about the article and your ideas brought up in the discussion - ADD MORE DETAIL + explain why you chose this article
You thought up very good questions - one you can add is "How do doctors know when a child at 3/4 months before being born has Multiple Sclerosis?
Otherwise AWESOME - H.B.
I think that this is a very interesting article. It's amazing how they found out that the problem has to do with lack of Vitamin D after they collected data from those women and recorded what season has the most babies with MS. However, I'm not sure from the summary or definitions what Multiple Sclerosis really does to a person. I know that they lack a Myelin sheath, but what does this actually do to a person? How does it affect them and their daily life? The data and numbers in your summary were very helpful to understanding the topic better. Your questions are very interesting, too. I'm pretty sure that an excess of sunlight would result in skin cancer, for your first question. The second question could actually be a very good solution to the problem. Taking Vitamin D supplements could prevent pregnant women from having Vitamin D deficiency. Overall, your discussion and questions really showed that you understood the article and the problems it could lead to. You also got readers thinking from the questions. Good work!
(Whoops! I accidentally deleted the other comment...)
Thank you so much for the advice!
Well, basically, people diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis will at first loose their sense of touch/sensitivity. Then, they begin to suffer from multiple other symptoms like muscle spasms, balancing problems, loss of coordination, etc. Then, it gets worse where the inflicted person looses their ability to speak, sometimes even their vision, so Multiple Sclerosis is a pretty serious nervous disorder. They definitely won't be able to carry on with their daily life.
I chose this article because things having to do with the brain always interest me. So I searched up articles which have to do with neurological disorders, and I came across this one. It was an interesting read, so I decided to write my blog post on it.
Thanks a lot for the tips! I'll keep them in mind when writing on my next article.
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