🦠TIL: Two specific gut bacteria may help trigger multiple sclerosis, and scientists found them using identical twins.
Researchers at LMU Munich studied 81 pairs of identical twins where only one sibling has MS. Since the twins share genetics and grew up together, differences in their gut flora become much easier to interpret. 51 microbes differed between siblings.
The real test: gut bacteria from the small intestine were transferred into germ-free mice prone to MS-like disease. Mice that got samples from the twin with MS got sick at far higher rates, and two bacteria dominated in the sick mice: Eisenbergiella tayi and Lachnoclostridium. Female mice were more susceptible, echoing the female predominance of MS itself.
It is early days. Only four twin pairs gave intestine samples, and the next step is testing each bacterium in isolation. But if a small number of microbes really can trigger MS, the gut becomes a target for detection and therapy.
Read more:
pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2419…
lmu.de/en/newsroom/news-overvi…
Multiple sclerosis: Triggers in the gut flora
Study of twins detects bacteria in the small intestine that play a role in the development of MS.www.lmu.de
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