Researchers in Ashutosh Mangalam, PhD’s research laboratory, in collaboration with University of Iowa College of Nursing, University of Iowa College of Public Health, and University of Iowa Department of Neurology, have identified a microbial ratio in the gut microbiome associated with multiple sclerosis and disease severity.

The bifidobacterium-to-akkermansia ratio has been found to be consistently lower in MS patients compared to healthy controls in University of Iowa MS cohort as well as in an independent large International Multiple Sclerosis Microbiome Study. In addition, MS patients exhibited an altered gut microbiome compared to healthy controls, with Prevotella copri predominating in healthy individuals and Blautia species being characteristic of the microbial communities in those with MS. In mice, imbalances between Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia were consistent with predicting multiple sclerosis-like disease severity.

The study overall suggests the possibility that the symbiont-to-pathobiont ratio may have broader applications beyond MS, serving as a valuable metric in other microbiome studies.

Read the full study here.