Gut bacteria offer clues to multiple sclerosis

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Investigating the byproducts of gut bacteria gives fresh insight into how the microbiome influences inflammation in the brain and its potential role in neurological conditions.

Gut bacteria illustration

Gut bacteria (depicted here) appear to play a role in brain inflammation.

According to recent research, gut bacteria play a part in pretty much every facet of physiology, in both health and disease.

Gut bacteria have been shown to play a role in everything from diabetes to obesity, and from depression to schizophrenia.

It is these links with mental health and the nervous system in general that fascinates Francisco Quintana, Ph.D., from the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA.

Quintana and his team recently published a paper in the journal Nature, outlining how the gut-brain connection might work on a cellular level. Their findings have implications for many neurological conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS).

Using both animal models and human cells, they have spent years investigating the three-way interactions between the brain, gut, and immune system.

“These findings,” exlains Quintana, “provide a clear understanding of how the gut impacts central nervous system resident cells in the brain.”

more at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321834.php