- Full Text
- Trade Journal
Does Dysbiosis Cause Multiple Sclerosis?
Full text preview
SOURCE : Glenn JD, Mowry EM. Emerging concepts on the gut microbiome and multiple sclerosis. J Interferon Cytokine Res 2016;36:347-357.
Two scientists from the Department of Neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine recently reviewed the emerging science of the human gut microbiome and the development of autoimmune diseases, particularly multiple sclerosis. The gut microbiome has complex bidirectional interactions with the human immune system.
While the bacteria in the human gut has the highest density ever recorded in any ecosystem, there are even more viruses in the gut, most importantly the bacteriophages that infect the bacteria and exchange DNA.
The microbiome develops at birth and is enhanced by both vaginal delivery and breastfeeding. Children born by C-section have a delay in their microbiome development as do children not breast fed. These changes have been reported for up to seven years. Multiple sclerosis patients feature a higher rate of C-section birth and shorter duration of breastfeeding than controls. 1,2
There is emerging evidence leading researchers to believe that dysbiosis, disorders in the gut microbiome, form a biological basis for the development of autoimmune diseases. Some of the strongest evidence exists for Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis. 3,4 The Western diet, with its unhealthy trans fats, excessive sugar, and inflammatory proteins, has been associated with dysbiosis.
COMMENTARY
The number of books written by physicians and biologists on the gut microbiome has exploded in the last few years. 5-8 Compelling evidence says our health depends on what we eat in profound ways, with the gut microbiome acting as a critical intermediary. Disorder in the gut microbiome has become the leading theory behind the development of autoimmune diseases.
Terry Wahls is an internist at the University of Iowa who developed disabling multiple sclerosis in 2002. Conventional therapy, including new biologic agents, were ineffective in...