Multiple sclerosis causes
Multiple sclerosis causes are unknown. The major mechanism of multiple sclerosis aims to kill the myeline cover of the nerves by its own immune system. In a study published last month in the journal EBioMedicine, researchers found that a group of people with MS had significantly different bacterial ecosystems in their gut compared to a similar cohort without MS. This fact added some light to understanding the multiple sclerosis causes.
In multiple sclerosis, the immune system attacks the protective coverings of nerve fibers, disrupting the communication between those nerves and our brain. Researchers don’t know why people develop this disease and are left with a confusing list of risk factors: Caucasians are more likely to develop MS, and women are more likely to develop a type. MS is more common in colder climates, and a history of certain infections may play a role in triggering the disease.
An alternative view at multiple sclerosis causes.
To look at the disease in general and for multiple sclerosis causes in particular from another angle, a team of researchers, led by Washington University School of Medicine and the University of Connecticut Clinical Health Unit, examined the consumption patterns and gastrointestinal and metabolic traits of 24 people. Newly diagnosed MS patients registered for the study had noticeably distinct blood metabolites and microbiome contents than individuals without MS. They also ate, on average, more than twice as much meat.
Additional investigation is considered necessary to ascertain the significance (if any) of these connections and how they might impact the understanding of multiple sclerosis causes.
What is multiple sclerosis?
Multiple sclerosis affects 2.3 million people worldwide and can be debilitating and sometimes cause severe disability.
Many treatments for MS are available, but there is no cure, and scientists have been stifled by the ongoing mystery of why the immune system launches this attack on healthy nerves. So every new perspective could help.
Immune system and multiple sclerosis causes
The gut microbiome helps educate and build the immune system. Researchers know that diet plays a crucial role in determining which species are in the gut and in what quantities, so there may be lessons to be learned from looking at the digestive and metabolic health of people with MS and the causes of MS.
Yanjiao Zhou, one of the co-authors, tells Inverse that this small study is the first attempt to look at MS from a new perspective, with technology allowing scientists to sequence gut bacteria from a stool sample and identify significant side effects. metabolism as seen in the bloodstream, as well as the awareness that all these facets are connected.
“This document is really just to try to harness all this technology together and try to review the association between all of these components,” he says.
Gut bacteria deficit may become one of the causes of MS
Zhou says some of the bacteria missing in MS patients have anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation is correlated with a multitude of chronic diseases, particularly autoimmune diseases.
Additionally, there were differences in gut microbiomes between those with mild and severe symptoms, which “suggests that specific gut microbes may be associated with the degree of disability in MS patients,” according to the report. item.
The most significant dietary difference between the 24 MS patients and the 25 healthy people recruited as a control group was meat consumption. MS patients ate 2.7 servings of meat for every serving consumed by the control group.
The link between diet and multiple sclerosis.
Previous research on MS and meat consumption had inconclusive results. One study showed a higher prevalence of MS among people with high consumption of animal fat and a lower prevalence in vegetarians. But another study found that people with higher consumption of unprocessed red meat had a reduced risk of neurological activity associated with multiple sclerosis. The authors noted that red meat is rich in vitamin D and other components that have a neuroprotective effect.
Investigating this further, the researchers behind the new article used microbiome data to determine that high meat consumption in their group of participants was correlated with a lack of B. thetaiotamicron, the gut bacteria that helps digest the stomach. they digest carbohydrates.
Interestingly, the presence of the same bacteria “was strongly negatively correlated” with the high circulation of a component of the immune system called T helper 17 cells. Scientists thought that 17 T helper cells played a role in the nonsensical behavior of the immune system in MS.
But all this is ambiguous. As for what this means for one of the most frustrating medical conditions, only time and further research will show.
Study participants with MS ate twice as much red meat as those who did not have MS. Research on MS and meat consumption has largely been inconclusive.
The researchers recruited 24 newly diagnosed patients with yet untreated MS.
They also recruited 25 healthy people and filled this group to match approximately the age, gender, race, and body mass index of the MS group. They used this control group to compile what was standard.
The researchers commissioned both groups to fill out food diaries and provide blood and stool samples.
Zhou and her collaborators would like to conduct another study with more people to test the consistency of these results. They also want to include people with severe MS to further explore the finding that the microbiome deviates even further from the norm depending on the severity of the disease.
More about multiple sclerosis
At the Philadelphia Holistic Clinic the team of medical professionals under the strict supervision of the medical director Victor Tsan, MD provide holistic treatment for multiple sclerosis based on the theory of Oriental medicine, energy healing, and homeopathic scientific research.
For more information about multiple sclerosis check this article.
Contact our clinic at (267) 403-3085 or use our online scheduling application to book your appointment for holistic evaluation and discuss with Dr. Tsan your best treatment options.