Articles related to MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS)

Researchers believe that the activity of its flagella, the hair-like projections that help bacteria move around, adhere to, and invade target cells, promotes inflammation in this ‘bacteria x’ species (the name is protected by patent). Previously, the researchers examined fecal samples from patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), discovering a distinct microbiome profile associated with each MS type. The researchers discovered 12 bacterial species that were particularly enriched in the SPMS samples using bacterial DNA extracted from fecal samples from 62 RRMS and 15 SPMS patients. The highest correlation was found between bacteria X levels and patients’ disability levels, as measured by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).

The University of Virginia researchers used healthy mice and mice genetically engineered to lack aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) in CD4-positive T-cells, an immune cell type implicated in MS, in the first set of experiments. These animals were subjected to the standard protocol for inducing an MS-like disease called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The results showed that mice lacking AHR had the same time to disease onset and peak clinical severity as healthy mice, but recovered faster in the chronic phase. The difference in recovery was only observed when the mutant mice were housed separately from their healthy counterparts, according to the researchers. The team hypothesized that this was due to microbiome differences that were only apparent when the mice lived separately and did not influence each other’s microbiomes.

In statistical models, neurofilament light chain (Nlf) levels exhibited weaker connections with progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA)—”silent progression”—risk, while glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) levels indicated very significant associations. Further models revealed that, whereas high NfL levels were linked to an approximately doubled risk of disability worsening, high levels of GFAP were associated with a nearly threefold higher risk of disability worsening. In contrast to low levels of both proteins, high levels of GFAP and NfL were linked to a more than fourfold probability of disease deterioration. Overall, the data, according to the researchers, support NfL as a biomarker of relapse activity and GFAP as a useful biomarker for predicting the likelihood of PIRA. The analysis of both markers provides “complete coverage of biological mechanisms contributing to disability worsening” as a result.

In addition to the improvements in gait and balance, all individuals, including those who combined a Mediterranean diet with a placebo, improved their endurance after four months, according to the pilot study published in Food & Function.

Shift work has previously been linked to an increased risk of developing MS, presumably due to the resulting sleep deprivation and circadian desynchrony. The current study compared sleeping 7–9 hours/night during adolescence, with less than 7 hours/night and found a 40% increase in risk for developing MS in the short-sleep cohort. The authors conclude that “insufficient sleep and low sleep quality during adolescence seem to increase the risk of subsequently developing MS.”

This neurology news roundup from MedPage Today includes four highlights of note: First, a JAMA Internal Medicine article pointing out that gabapentin will not solve the opioid crisis in the US. Second, ublituximab, approved for relapsing MS at the end of December, has been included in the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review’s report on comparative effectiveness. Third, the same organization says that the newly approved Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab will need to be priced below $21,000 per year to be cost effective. And finally, a link to Neurology‘s crystal ball view into neurology education in the coming decade.