Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23955709›Full record

Trial reportJournal of molecular neuroscience : MN2013

Impact of vitamin A supplementation on RAR gene expression in multiple sclerosis patients.

Sama Bitarafan, Mohammad Hossein Harirchian, Mohammad Ali Sahraian, Mohammad Keramatipour, Nahid Beladi Moghadam, Mansoureh Togha, Shahriar Nafissi, Fereydoun Siassi, Mohammad Reza Eshraghian, Niyaz Mohammadzadeh Honarvar and 3 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of molecular neuroscience : MN, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 28% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Dietary interventions for multiple sclerosis-related outcomes.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Vitamin A and Its Related Diseases.Food science & nutrition · 2025
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Sama BitarafanSchool of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad Hossein Harirchian
Mohammad Ali Sahraian
Mohammad Keramatipour
Nahid Beladi Moghadam
Mansoureh Togha
Shahriar Nafissi
Fereydoun Siassi
Mohammad Reza Eshraghian
Niyaz Mohammadzadeh Honarvar
Hasti Ansar
Saeed Talebi
Ali Akbar Saboor-Yarghi
Tehran University of Medical Sciences · IRImam Hossein Hospital · IR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Vitamin A and its derivatives have been shown to modulate the immune system via retinoic acid receptor (RAR). This study explored the impact of retinyl palmitate supplementation on RAR subtype gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The study designed as a double-blind randomized clinical trial in which relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis patients were evaluated. Both groups received one capsule 50,000 IU vitamin D3 per 2 weeks and one intramuscular injection interferon beta-1a per week. The intervention group received one 25,000 IU retinyl palmitate capsule daily for 6 months and the placebo group received one placebo capsule daily. The PBMCs were isolated from participants and the expression level changes of RAR-α and RAR-γ genes were determined by real-time PCR. After supplementation, in the intervention group, the RAR-α gene expression level was significantly decreased compared to the placebo group (p = 0.03); however, the expression of RAR-γ gene did not significantly change (p = 0.10). These results show that vitamin A supplementation can significantly downregulate the expression of RAR-α gene in PBMCs of MS patients that suggest the presence of in vivo regulatory mechanisms for the action of vitamin A on the immune system.

Indexed as

Dietary SupplementsAdultDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansMaleMonocytesMultiple SclerosisReceptors, Retinoic AcidRetinoic Acid Receptor alphaRetinoic Acid Receptor gammaTranscription, GeneticVitamin ARARA protein, humanReceptors, Retinoic AcidRetinoic Acid Receptor alphaRetinoic Acid Receptor gammaVitamin A

Identifiers

PMID23955709
OpenAlexW2065809881

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.