Gut microbiome composition is associated with long-term disability worsening in multiple sclerosis
ABSTRACTPredicting the long-term outcome of multiple sclerosis (MS) remains an important challenge to this day. As the gut microbiota is emerging as a potential player in MS, we investigated in this study whether gut microbial composition at baseline is related to long-term disability worsening in a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Gut Microbes |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19490976.2023.2180316 |
| Summary: | ABSTRACTPredicting the long-term outcome of multiple sclerosis (MS) remains an important challenge to this day. As the gut microbiota is emerging as a potential player in MS, we investigated in this study whether gut microbial composition at baseline is related to long-term disability worsening in a longitudinal cohort of 111 MS patients. Fecal samples and extensive host metadata were collected at baseline and 3 months post-baseline, with additional repeated neurological measurements performed over (median) 4.4 y. Worsening (with EDSS-Plus) occurred in 39/95 patients (outcome undetermined for 16 individuals). The inflammation-associated, dysbiotic Bacteroides 2 enterotype (Bact2) was detected at baseline in 43.6% of worsened patients, while only 16.1% of non-worsened patients harbored Bact2. This association was independent of identified confounders, and Bact2 was more strongly associated with EDSS-Plus than neurofilament light chain (NfL) plasma levels. Furthermore, using fecal sampling performed 3 months post-baseline, we observed Bact2 to be relatively stable, suggesting its potential use as a prognostic biomarker in MS clinical practice. |
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| ISSN: | 1949-0976 1949-0984 |