Gut microbiota alterations and nutritional intervention in multiple sclerosis disease

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurodegenerative autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation, demyelination and axonal degeneration. There are different types of MS: Relapsing-Remitting, Primary-Progressive, Progressive-Relapsing and Secondary-Progressive disease. The prevalence of this pathology is about two million people worldwide, affecting at the age of 20–40 years, with predominance in females. The idea of remitting symptoms by modification of gut microbiota has been hypothesize through different studies, and it could have a positive impact in quality of life on these patients. Gut microbiota affects the development and regulation of the immune system, so it could be considered as a new environmental risk factor. Moreover, as a potential risk factor, it could be positively changed by diet, suggesting new therapeutic avenues and creating a protective environment based in microbiota modifications and/or nutritional interventions. Nowadays, there is strong evidence showing a relationship between the immune system and the inflammatory state. Thus, it is of paramount importance to elucidate how gut microbiota could impact on the inflammatory state of MS to improve disease´s symptoms. The aim of this review is to comprehensively analyze the relationship between gut microbiota and the inflammatory state on MS, including a nutritional therapy to calm down the symptoms.