Helicobacter pylori reduces disease severity in model of Multiple Sclerosis

 In a study just published in Frontiers in Microbiology, scientists from the Division of Clinical Neuroscience (DCN) and the Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre demonstrated that infection with Helicobacter pylori (Hp), a frequent cause of pepticulcer disease, reduces disease severity in an experimental model of multiplesclerosis (MS), an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system.

The observation is consistent with epidemiological observations indicating that this frequent infection may have a protective effect against MS. The lead investigators in the study, Dr Karen Robinson (NDDC) and Dr Bruno Gran (DCN), pointed out that this is the first characterisation, in an experimental model of MS, of the mechanisms of action of Hp in modulating the severity of this neuro-immunological disease.

Their co-author, Professor Cris Constantinescu (DCN), contributed a case series of well-characterised MS patients, in which the frequency of infection by Hp (21%)was significantly lower than in matched control subjects (43%). Hp, which is typically acquired during the first years of life,was previously demonstrated to protect from the development of other humanimmune-mediated diseases, such as asthma and allergies.

In future studies, the investigators plan to extend theirobservations in larger patient cohorts and to further elucidate the exact mechanisms by which the infection alleviates experimental disease.