MS, microbes, and Abx

[SuzE-Q]

I just read a really interesting article on how gut microbes are different in people with MS.

Interestingly, the balance of probiotics changes with use of copaxone, vitamin D, etc. The discussion about MS starts on page 25:

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Another section also caught my eye, how, in the mouse version of MS (EAE)...

"Ochoa-Repáraz et al. (2009) utilized a cocktail of oral antibiotics (ampicillin, vancomycin, neomycin sulfate, and metronidazole) to disrupt the gut microbiome of mice prior to induction of EAE. The authors reported oral antibiotic treatment significantly decreased gut bacterial populations and reduced the onset and severity of EAE."*

[agate]

Hmm. They don't seem to know a lot about just what bacteria get zapped by which antibiotics but it sounds as if they're starting to find out more.

There's also this:

Although these studies are exploratory and future studies in larger cohorts are needed to confirm these findings, these results suggest that the microbial communities of the MS gut are subject to modulation by some drugs commonly used in the treatment of MS.

[Frog42]

It would almost make one suspect that doctors are not gods!

[agate]

It would almost make one suspect that doctors are not gods!

What a scary thought! Here I was hoping they'd be able to make it possible for me to live forever in good health.

[SuzE-Q]

It would almost make one suspect that doctors are not gods!

You'd almost think that some of the pharma companies were trying to beat one another in cornering the market on MS drugs.

Mah, oh mah, you don't think our doctors and Big Pharma are using us as a cash cow, do you (as I flutter my eyelashes in sarcastic disbelief)! Say it isn't so!

[Virginia]

Vicky, Agate and Suze, I can't believe how cynical you ladies are. I am absolutely sure that pharma companies have our very best interest at heart with no concern for their profits, and I just know that all Doctors are surly there just to serve us without regard for their welfare - they must be Gods.

[agate]

And of course each doctor recognizes us immediately when we appear and doesn't ever confuse us with some other patient.

--Not likely, given the number of patients each doctor sees daily.

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Unless you can stage something very dramatic so that your doctor will find you unforgettable (not recommended!), you're probably just another humdrum patient in a vast sea of humdrum patients to that doctor.

[SalpalSally]

Vicky, Agate and Suze, I can't believe how cynical you ladies are. I am absolutely sure that pharma companies have our very best interest at heart with no concern for their profits, and I just know that all Doctors are surly there just to serve us without regard for their welfare - they must be Gods.

You win the prize!! LOL