Story at a Glance
A group of US researchers have found high levels of three bacterial neurotoxins in the spinal fluid and plasma of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, but not in healthy people.
This study published in the journal, Brain, helps us better understand how bacteria in the gut can impact neurological diseases as they produce compounds that are toxic to our nerve cells.
Their findings:
“Our findings suggest that MS patients’ gut bacteria produce and release large amounts of p-cresol-sulfate (pCS), indoxyl sulfate and N-phenylacetylglutamine into the bloodstream, and they eventually reach the cerebrospinal fluid. Once there, these toxic metabolites bathe the brain and spinal cord, and potentially play a role in the destruction of the myelin sheath that protect nerves.”
-Hye-Jin Park, study lead author and a research associate with the Neuroscience Initiative, Advanced Science Research Center at the Graduate Center, CUNY (CUNY ASRC).
“The presence of high levels of these toxic metabolites also correlates with biomarkers of neurodegeneration in MS patients, and with the ability to impair neuronal function of cultured cells in the laboratory,” said Achilles Ntranos, a lead author of the study and assistant professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where a second set of samples was collected from MS patients.
“This is an exciting and significant discovery,” said Patrizia Casaccia, the study’s primary investigator and the founding director of the CUNY ASRC’s Neuroscience Initiative. “This work not only furthers our understanding of the role of gut-brain communication in neurodegenerative disease progression, but also provides a potential metabolic target for develop new MS Therapies.”
This study was funded by a pharmaceutical company that produces a specific disease modifying drug for the treatment of MS. They found that these three neurotoxins were abundant in untreated MS patients, but not in controls. They also determined that MS patients taking their drug for at least 6 months had less of these neurotoxins in their blood and spinal fluid than MS patients who were not taking their drug. MS patients are not interested in expensive drugs that might decrease these toxins but instead want to effectively treat the bacterial infections to put an end to the production of the neurotoxins in the body for good.
Now that the presence of specific bacterial neurotoxins in MS patients has been discovered, studies should be conducted to identify which bacteria are producing these toxins and treat the bacteria with the most effective treatments instead of using MS disease modifying drugs that are not designed to treat bacterial infections.
p-cresol-sulfate (pCS)
The types of bacteria that produce phenolic end products, of which pCS is one of the components, mainly belong to the families Bacteroida, Bifidobacteria, especially Clostridia, Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococca, Eubacteria, Fusobacteriaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Lactobacilla, Porphyromonadaceae, Staphylococca, Ruminococcaceae and Veillonellaceae.
Understanding that many of the above microbes produce neurotoxins, Clostridia species are known to produce a variety of neurotoxins.
In the study, the researchers focused on identifying bacterial toxins that can enter the blood and reach the brain. An example of such a toxin is the epsilon toxin (EXT) produced by Clostridium perfringens which has been found to be elevated in MS patients and is the third most potent bacterial toxin known.
ETX is absorbed and acts locally in the intestines, then later binds to and causes lesions in other organs, including the kidneys, lungs and brain.
Epsilon toxin (ETX) is a reasonable candidate to trigger MS because of its attraction to the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the myelin sheath, which are both damaged during an MS episode.
Indoxyl sulfate
Indoxyl sulfate is produced from tryptophan by intestinal bacteria such as Escherichia coli.
Indoles produced from bacteria in the gut are associated with depression and anxiety and multiple studies suggest that indoxyl sulfate is toxic to the kidneys.
In Conclusion
If you follow our work, you know that there is a large and ever growing body of evidence that MS is caused by infections and yet pharmaceutical companies are not focused on identifying the specific microbes that are causing MS, but instead are intent on developing expensive maintenance immunosuppressive drugs which modify how the immune system responds to the infections. As a result, we suffer with the infections and the horrible adverse effects of the MS drugs. Because these drugs suppress our immune system, we become more susceptible to additional infections and other diseases. We eventually become disabled and lose our independence.
I was diagnosed with MS over 30 years ago and I am amazed that our “experts” still don’t know what causes MS and still insist that there is no cure. There is no financial incentive to cure any disease. A lifetime of disease modifying medications is much more lucrative than a cure and therefore our standard of care is focused on maintaining sickness instead of creating health.
Real MS Solutions for Today!
If you’re frustrated with the fact that our standard of care STILL doesn’t offer a real solution for treating MS, then click on the link below to watch my free masterclass training and discover REAL solutions that have allow myself and many others to live free from MS symptoms.
CLICK Here to watch Pam’s masterclass training
Or take the Health Blocker Quiz to see if you could have chronic infections
References:
Bacterial neurotoxic metabolites in multiple sclerosis cerebrospinal fluid and plasma.
Clostridium perfringens epsilon toxin: the third most potent bacterial toxin known
Indoxyl Sulfate—Review of Toxicity and Therapeutic Strategies
Study reveals how gut bacteria can impact the course of neurological diseases
Uremic toxins originating from colonic microbial metabolism
Clinically diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 28, Pam chose an alternative approach to recovery. Now decades later and still symptom free, she coaches others on how to treat the root cause of chronic disease, using a holistic approach. She can teach you how, too.
Pam is the author of Become a Wellness Champion and founder of Live Disease Free. She is a wellness expert, coach and speaker.
The Live Disease Free Academy has helped hundreds of Wellness Champions in over 15 countries take charge of their health and experience profound improvements in their life.
