How Probiotics May Help Treat Multiple Sclerosis

The notion of gut microbes, like probiotics, in being able to treat autoimmune diseases, such as MS, would be a significant advancement in medicine. It could break the way for several other innovative developments in healthcare. “The nature of the relationship between the gut microbiome and MS is unclear. One possibility is that the gut could be the key to MS. An organism in the gut may trigger MS, and that organism potentially could be altered or used in vaccinations to treat or prevent the disease. Alternatively, the gut microbiome might relate to MS susceptibility. Environmental factors, including diet and antibiotics, could affect the microbiome and MS risk. It is also possible that MS disease-modifying therapies act in part through the gut” said Dr. Howard L. Weiner, Director of the MS Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts.