Can vitamin D(3) supplementation prevent bone loss in persons with MS? A placebo-controlled trial

Osteoporosis (thinning of the bones) is common in MS. In this small study the investigators failed to show that a weekly dose of 20,000 IU of vitamin D3 could prevent the bone loss in PwMS.

"Why did this study fail? 20,000U of vD3 per week is equivalent to less than 3,000U per day. This dose is clearly too low. The investigators should have tried 10,000U per day; which has been shown to be safe in PwMS. My current recommendation is 5,000U per day with active monitoring of blood vD levels; this advice on dose is based on the vD Council's advice (http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/)."

Steffensen et al. J Neurol. 2011 Mar 13. [Epub ahead of print]