June 4, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Gut Mucus May Help Ease MS, Other Neurological Diseases, Review Suggests Tweaking the protective properties of the gut mucus, a layer lining the inside of the gut, to boost the proliferation of good bacteria potentially could halt the development of neurological disorders, like multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a review of more than 100 studies. The review, ā…
July 22, 2019 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD Microbes in Gut Protect Nervous System After Viral Infections, Study Suggests Gut microbes prime immune cells called microglia to protect the brain and nervous system from neurological damage due to viral infections, according to new research in mice. The findings suggest that maintaining a healthy and diverse microbiota ā the population of bacteria, fungi, and viruses within the body, especially the…
May 16, 2019 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #AANAM ā Gut Bacteria May Play Role in Pediatric MS, Studies Suggest As strange as it is to think about, many bacteria live in the human body, most of which are found in the gut (often referred to as the gut microbiome). These bodily roommates affect health in many ways that are only beginning to be understood.Ā …
January 8, 2019 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Immune Cells in the Gut Can Suppress Brain Inflammation in MS, Pre-clinical Study Finds Immune cells in the intestine may reduce neuroimflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, a pre-clinical study suggests. Moreover, the augmented number of these cells was sufficient to suppress brain inflammation in an MS mouse model. The findings were reported in the study āRecirculating Intestinal IgA-Producing Cells Regulate Neuroinflammation via…
December 21, 2018 News by Alberto Molano, PhD Study Links Food Allergies and Increased MS Disease Activity Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who reported food allergies showed a 27 percent higher cumulative rate of flare-ups over the course of their disease, and more than twice the likelihood of having active inflammatory lesions, a new study shows. The study, āFood Allergies are Associated with Increased Disease Activity…
October 19, 2018 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Enzyme Produced by Gut Bacteria Linked to T-cell Attacks on Myelin in Study An enzyme produced by bacteria in the gut was seen to activate immune cells linked to the development and progression ofĀ multiple sclerosis, a finding that mayĀ pave the way for a vaccine that might alter autoimmune mechanisms involved in MS. The study, ā…
May 21, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Gut Microbiome May Offer Way to Ease or Halt Brain Inflammation, Study Suggests Metabolites produced by microbes in the gut can ease inflammationĀ in the central nervous system by limiting the damage done by microglia, an immune cell of the brain, an early study reports. Its scientists suggest this gut-brain axisĀ may open new avenues to treatment. “These findings provide a clear understanding of how…
February 23, 2018 News by Ana Pena PhD Pilot Study Is Testing Whether Mediterranean Diet Can Help MS Patients New York researchers are doing a pilot study of whether a Mediterranean diet can reduce multiple sclerosis symptoms and improve patients’ quality of life.Ā Dr. Ilana B. Katz Sand, an assistant professor of neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai,Ā is leading…
November 22, 2017 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Gut Bacteria Contribute to MS Onset and Development, Rutgers Mouse Study Shows Exposure to certain gut bacteria at a young age may cause multiple sclerosis (MS) and fuel its progression, a new mouse study shows. The study, āGut dysbiosis breaks immunological tolerance toward the central nervous system during young adulthood,ā appeared in the journal Proceedings of the National…
October 16, 2017 News by Ana Belo van Wijk, PhD One More Small Piece of the Puzzle on the Role of Gut Micro-organisms in MS Researchers found a significant increase in some types of gut bacteria and lower levels of an anti-inflammatory factor in untreated multiple sclerosis twins. The study offered working evidence that components of gut microbiota contribute to autoimmune diseases like MS. Researchers published their articleĀ in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.It was titledĀ "Gut microbiota from multiple sclerosis patients enables spontaneous autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice." Our gut contains millions of good bacteria, fungi, bacteria-like archaea, and viruses that we can't live without. Although there are 300 to 1,000 species of bacteria in our gut, most of our intestines is populated with 30 or 40 species. RecentĀ increases in knowledge and technical advancements have made it possible for scientists to measure the equilibrium between different species in the gut, and analyze their influence on our health. One discovery was a link between the balance of bacteria in the intestines and autoimmune diseases like MS. A team of researchers decided to see if differences in gut microbiota play a role in MS progression and perhaps its onset. They analyzedĀ the feces of 34 identical twins, one of each who had MS and one of each who didn't. They used twins to try to reduce genetic and environmental differences' influence on the onset of the disease. All of those with MS were Caucasian andĀ had grown up with their healthy twin to adulthood. Researchers analyzed the type and abundance of microorganisms in the feces of both the MS-affected and healthy twins. They found no differences in species or amount of bacteria between siblings. What they did find was a significant increase in some types of bacteria, such as Akkermansia, in untreated twins with MS. The team transplanted fecal samples from MS-affected and healthy twins into a mice model of MS called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. These animals have an inflammatory myelin-destroying disease of the central nervous system that is comparable to human MS. Myelin is a protective coating around neurons whose loss is associated with MS. MS twin-derived gut microbiota caused a significantly higher amount of mice to develop a relapsingāremitting autoimmunity similar to MS than healthy twin-derived microbiota. When researchers measured the microbial profiles of the mice's feces, they found significant differences in amounts of bacteria.Ā The most important difference was inĀ Sutterella, an organism that helpsĀ protect against inflammation. SutturellaĀ levels were significantly reduced in the feces of mice transplanted with MS twin-derived microbiota compared with feces from healthy twins. The team alsoĀ measured the mice's immune cells and the proteins they release. They discovered that immune cells in mice with MS-twin feces transplants produced less of the anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 than immune cells from mice colonized with healthy-twin samples. IL-10, or interleukin 10, is an important immune protein. When researchers transplanted the feces of healthy twins into the mice, then gave them an antibody that blocks the function of IL-10, they also became sick. This indicated that IL-10 may temper autoimmunity in the central nervous system. The team then measured the twins' immune blood components. They found that the healthy twin had higher quantities of IL-10 than the MS-affected one. This isĀ a complex issue in which very subtle differences of type and amount of bacteria in the gut can have considerable consequences, they added. Ā
September 14, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Specific Gut Bacteria May Drive Progression of Multiple Sclerosis, Study Finds Specific gut bacteria may drive the progression of multiple sclerosis, according to a study showing that two bacterial species made the disease worse in a mouse model of MS. Researchers at the University of California, San FranciscoĀ also pinpointed a species ā found in lower numbers in MS patients ā…
August 23, 2017 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Researchers Identify Nerve Pathway Linking Brain Inflammation, Gut Dysfunction in MS Chronic stress and inflammation in the brain can cause multi-organ dysfunction including severe gut failure, mediated by a newly identified nerve pathway in animal models of multiple sclerosis, a Japanese study shows. MS is an autoimmune disease caused by CD4+ T-cells that cross the blood-brain barrier protecting the central nervous system. This inflames and stresses the brain and spinal cord. In previous studies, a team led by professor Masaaki Murakami of Japan's Hokkaido University showed that these cells could cross the blood-brain barrier in specific sites. These entrance sites depend on brain regional activation, which was found to be triggered by specific nerve interactions ā a mechanism the team called gateway reflexes. In collaboration with other Japanese researchers and a team from Germany, the project aimed to address the potential correlation among chronic stress, brain inflammation and organ failures in MS. Using mice with MS-like disease ā the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model ā researchers found that animals that had autoreactive CD4+ T-cells and which were exposed to stressful conditions developed severe symptoms such as gastrointestinal failure, or even death. Detailed analysis of the animals' brains showed that in stressed mice, CD4+ T-cells accumulated in two specific sites in the center of the brain around blood vessels. This event would cause inflammation around those vessels, and activation of a nerve pathway that is commonly turned off. This switch led to gut dysfunction, bleeding and failure. "These results demonstrate a direct link between brain micro-inflammation and fatal gastrointestinal diseases via the establishment of a new neural pathway under stress," Murakami, the study's senior author, said in a news release. Researchers were able to prevent gut symptoms by inhibiting inflammation in the brain or blocking the nerve pathway responsible for driving the signals from the brain to the gastrointestinal tract. "Micro-inflammation in the brain is also seen in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease," Murakamai concluded. "So it's of particular interest to investigate possible connections between brain micro-inflammations and organ dysfunctions, including those within the brain itself, in those patients."
May 17, 2017 Columns by Judy Lynn Taming Grumpy Gut Many people with MS experience symptoms related to digestion. According to theĀ Pittsburgh Institute for MS Care and Research, āNearly two-thirds of MS patients have at least one GI symptom that persists for 6 months or more.ā Some of the most common problems are dysphagia (trouble swallowing), heartburn, nausea,…
March 1, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski #ACTRIMS2017 – Gut Microbiome Gains Researchers’ Interest as Possible MS Therapy The role of the microbiome and its association with multiple sclerosis was the topic of several sessions and papers at the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) 2017 Forum. More thanĀ 800 researchers and clinicians attended the second annual meeting in Orlando last week to hear…
February 28, 2017 News by Laura Kolaczkowski #ACTRIMS2017 – MS, the Gut and Probiotics Harold Weiner, MD, believes in using probiotics to help treat multiple sclerosis.Ā He is such a believer that he did a presentation on the subject ā “Probiotics in Multiple Sclerosis” ā at the just-concluded Americas for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) 2017 Forum in Orlando. The event…
December 20, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Discovery of Brain-membrane Immune Cell May Advance MS Treatment Work The discovery of a new type of immune cell in the membranes covering the brain is likely to advance understanding of the immune system’s impact on the brain, a study says. It could also lead to new treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers knew the immune…
May 18, 2015 News by admin Gut Bacteria: Key to MS? There has been a great deal of recent interest in the connection between nervous system function and the complex bacteria that are found in the gastrointestinal system, known as the gut microbiome. Some scientists believe that differences in the type of bacteria found in the gut mayĀ underlie neurological disease. In…