Does the Gut Microbiome Play a Role in Neuromyelitis?

Noting some homology in the T-cell epitope to aquaporin-4 in neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and a sequence within Clostridium perfringens, researchers postulated a potential role for immune dysregulation in NMO susceptibility. To investigate further, they analyzed stool samples from 16 patients with NMO, 16 healthy controls (HC), and 16 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) using a probe to bacteria taxonomic differences.

The abundance of 829 operational taxonomic units differed between the NMO and control groups, of which 42 were significant after statistical correction for multiple comparisons. (No differences between the MS and control groups were significant.) C. perfringens was the second most statistically enriched taxon in NMO versus in H…