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Dietary fatty acids may influence MS flare-ups, autoimmune disea
se
By: agate Date: October 22, 2015, 8:13 pm
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From Medical News Today, October 22, 2015:
[quote]Dietary fatty acids may influence flare-ups in MS,
autoimmune disease
The types of fatty acids in the diet may affect the severity and
duration of flare-ups that people with multiple sclerosis and
other autoimmune diseases experience.
There is increasing evidence that gut bacteria play a key role
in the emergence and progression of autoimmune diseases like
multiple sclerosis.
This was the conclusion a team of neurology researchers reached
after finding that the length of fatty acids they fed to a type
of mouse bred for the study of multiple sclerosis (MS) changed
the function of T-helper immune cells in the gut so as to either
intensify or alleviate the symptoms of the autoimmune disease.
The researchers - from the Friedrich-Alexander-University
Erlangen-Nuremberg and the Ruhr University Bochum, both in
Germany - report their findings in the journal Immunity.
Autoimmune diseases are conditions - often chronic - where the
immune system attacks healthy cells and tissue, causing
inflammation and pain.
There are dozens of different autoimmune disorders. Examples
include lupus (where the body attacks connective tissue),
rheumatoid arthritis (affecting the joints) and MS (affecting
the central nervous system).
MS is a chronic disorder that can affect the brain, spinal cord
and the optic nerve of the eye. As the disease progresses,
people experience problems with balance, vision, muscle control
and other body functions.
...
While the exact cause of autoimmune disease is unknown,
researchers are increasingly focusing on the gut and its
bacterial colonies - the so-called microbiome - especially in
relation to neurological disorders such as MS.
There is increasing evidence that the gut microbiome plays a key
role in disease emergence and progression, and an important
influencer of this is diet - a factor that has changed
significantly in the industrialized world.
Short-chain fatty acids lessened symptoms of MS
For their study, the researchers investigated what happens to
mice with encephalomyelitis (used as an animal model for MS)
when you vary the types of fatty acids in their diet.
They compared the effect of long-chain fatty acids, most
prevalent in the western diet, with that of short-chain fatty
acids, which are typically found in fiber-rich diets and are
only metabolized by gut bacteria.
The team found that long-chain fatty acids, such as lauric acid,
triggered the growth and spread of proinflammation T cells from
the intestinal wall to other parts of the body, including the
brain, and led to worse symptoms in the MS mice.
In contrast, short-chain fatty acids - primarily in the form of
propionic acid or its salt propionate - spurred the growth and
release of regulatory T cells from the intestinal wall and
reduced symptoms in the mice. These cells keep the immune system
in check by regulating excessive inflammation responses and
autoreactive immune cells.
When the researchers carried out the same tests in MS mice with
germ-free intestines, they found none of these effects and
concluded that the gut bacteria are directly involved. Further
tests showed that it is the metabolic products of the bacteria,
rather than the germs themselves, that are important.
The researchers conclude that their findings should help improve
treatments - for example, with dietary supplements - for
autoimmune conditions such as MS, as co-senior author and
neurology professor Ralf Linker explains:
"Most approved immunotherapies weaken or block proinflammatory
components of the immune system, but by strengthening regulatory
pathways, for example by using propionate as a supplement to
established drugs, therapies could be further optimized."
He and his colleagues now plan to build on their findings and
develop new dietary interventions to complement established
immunotherapies for MS.
Meanwhile, from another recently published study, Medical News
Today have learned that low vitamin D and obesity in adolescence
may hasten MS. In the journal Neurology, researchers report how
they found people with MS who spent time in the sun during their
teens - and who were not obese - developed the disease later in
life compared with others.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD[/quote]
The entire article can be seen here
HTML http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/301383.php?tw.
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