The Relationship Between Multiple Sclerosis and Leaky Gut Syndrome
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease that occurs after the degeneration of the “myelin” sheath surrounding nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. MS is an autoimmune disease characterized by relapses (attacks) and remissions (periods without attacks), often progressing over time. Although MS is known to be autoimmune in nature, its exact cause has not been established. The disease arises when the body’s defense components, specifically “T lymphocytes,” attack the myelin sheaths in our nervous system, leading to demyelination. While the role of genetic factors is not definitive, familial occurrences have been observed. The disease is more frequently seen in women than men and usually starts between the ages of 20 and 40, often accompanied by gastrointestinal problems and other autoimmune diseases. It is more common in individuals of the white race and is observed less frequently in warmer climates compared to Northern Europe.
Common symptoms include balance disorders, double vision, numbness on one side of the body, and muscle weakness.
Diagnosis is made through examination and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
There is no definitive treatment for Multiple Sclerosis. All treatments aim to reduce the number and severity of relapses. Medications are used to suppress “autoimmunity.” However, while these drugs suppress autoimmunity, they also carry the risk of damaging the gut flora and potentially triggering autoimmunity through the resulting entry points.
What Is Autoimmunity?
Autoimmunity is defined as the loss of coordination in our immune system, leading it to perceive our own tissue and organ cells as “harmful” and “foreign,” ultimately attacking and causing tissue damage.
Why Does Our Immune System Lose Coordination?
One of the components of our immune system, known as white blood cells, includes “T lymphocytes.” T lymphocytes have the function of destroying harmful substances and microbes that enter our bloodstream from outside.
There are several barriers between the bloodstream and the external world. These include the digestive system mucosa, upper respiratory tract, skin, external ear canal, and eye mucosa. Nutrients, medications, toxins, and microbes can only reach the bloodstream after crossing one of these barriers. Once they enter the bloodstream, they can spread throughout the body.
All these barrier points have selective permeability. For various reasons, if the selective permeability of these barriers is partially or completely disrupted, harmful substances (such as microbes and macromolecules) that should not enter the bloodstream begin to cross over. If this transition is short-lived, the situation may resolve on its own without causing problems. However, if uncontrolled transition becomes chronic, our immune system will eventually become overwhelmed and lose coordination, perceiving harmful substances in the bloodstream as “foreign” and attacking the cells that make up our tissues and organs. Thus, an autoimmune process begins.
Why Is Early Intervention in Autoimmune Processes Important?
Autoimmune damage is often progressive and irreversible. Once an autoimmune disease has developed, it prepares the ground for the formation of other autoimmune diseases and accelerates the process.
How Can Autoimmune Processes Be Slowed or Stopped?
Restoring the barrier damage that causes autoimmunity can slow down or completely halt the autoimmune process. The most important entry point that initiates the autoimmune process is the disruption of selective permeability following damage to the gastrointestinal barrier.
How Does Damage to the Gastrointestinal Barrier Occur?
Our digestive system is lined with a single-layer “internal skin” known as mucosa. From the mouth to the end of the digestive system, the cells that make up the mucosal layer allow medications, water, minerals, vitamins, and digested food (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) to pass through to the bloodstream. The fundamental characteristic of the mucosal layer is its “selective permeability.” Goblet cells that constitute the mucosal layer produce a gelatinous, slimy secretion known as “mucus,” which coats the mucosa like a film. Thanks to mucus, the substances we ingest through our digestive system and our digestive secretions are kept from direct contact with the mucosa, protecting it from their destructive effects.
To maintain the selective permeability of the entire gastrointestinal tract and the sustainable production of mucus, a diverse gut flora is essential.
What Is Flora?
Flora refers to the beneficial, diverse microbes that live with us in certain areas of our bodies, which do not harm us and form the first microbial defense line against external influences, directly or indirectly contributing to the area’s humidity, acidity, and biochemical functions. These mainly consist of bacteria, viruses, and yeasts. All of these are collectively referred to as flora. The areas of our body that harbor flora include the skin, digestive system, upper respiratory tract, external ear canal, eyes, and genital area.
What Is Gut Flora?
Gut flora refers to the microbiota residing throughout the digestive system.
What Happens If We Don’t Have Gut Flora?
Without gut flora, our digestive system becomes vulnerable to external factors, losing its resistance to microbial attacks. If there is no flora, each region cannot maintain its acidity, humidity, synthesis, and digestive functions. Flora is also crucial for mucus production. Without mucus, the mucosa becomes exposed to external factors, its integrity is compromised, and it loses its selective permeability. The disruption of selective permeability is the most critical step in the development of autoimmunity.
What Is the Fundamental Problem in the Disruption of Selective Permeability?
The critical stage in the disruption of selective permeability in the digestive system is the reduction or complete loss of the biodiversity of gut flora.
What Is Flora Biodiversity?
We can think of our digestive system as a factory, with each type of flora representing a specific branch of engineering. The more diverse engineering disciplines and technical classes a factory has, the higher quality products it can produce. Each type of flora that constitutes our microbiota has its own special functions. The richer and higher quality our flora biodiversity is, the better functions we will have. A high-quality and biodiverse gut flora is essential for a long, healthy life.
What Happens Without Flora?
Life cannot exist without flora.
How Can Flora Damage Be Corrected in Multiple Sclerosis?
If microbial analysis of the digestive system in patients with Multiple Sclerosis reveals flora damage and leaky gut syndrome, gut flora can be restored through flora transplantation. If the flora transplantation is successful and healthy flora re-establishes itself, selective permeability of the intestines can be restored, thereby slowing down or completely eliminating the autoimmune process.
What Is Flora Transplantation?
After examinations and laboratory analyses, healthy and highly biodiverse donor candidates are identified. After informing the identified donor candidates, their consent is obtained for the procedure. Under general anesthesia, flora samples are collected from 25-45 distinct anatomical areas using endoscopic and colonoscopic techniques, each rinsed with solutions suitable for the region’s characteristics and stored separately. After undergoing various processes, these flora samples are transplanted back into the patient’s equivalent anatomical areas under general anesthesia using endoscopic and colonoscopic techniques.
Success rates for the treatment are around 85% when the patient and donor are well-matched. If the procedure is not extraordinary, the results are lifelong.
Flora transplantation represents a significant advancement in halting autoimmune processes and treating Multiple Sclerosis.
We have published the results of our clinical studies on flora transplantation in the American medical journal CUREUS. You can access the article through the following link.