The Secret To Treating Autoimmune Disease May Lie In The Gut

An estimated 50 million Americans ― that’s 20 percent of the general population ― suffer from autoimmune diseases like lupus, multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis, and many experts say that number is rising at an alarming rate.  Autoimmunity occurs when the immune system begins attacking the body’s healthy tissue as if it were an outside invader, leading to chronic inflammation. We still don’t know much about what causes the immune system to go haywire, or how to effectively treat it. But new research suggests that the gut microbiome ― the community of trillions of “good” and “bad” bacteria living in the body’s intestinal tract ― could play a larger role than scientists have realized. Alterations in gut bacteria are one cause of the runaway inflammation characteristic of autoimmune conditions, according to a study slated for publication in the January issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine.   Scientists already knew that the gut microbiome and the immune system are closely intertwined and constantly engaged in dynamic interaction. But new studies like this one continue to reveal more intricate connections between these two key systems of the body, including the ways that dysfunctions in both systems can contribute to autoimmunity.  “Beneficial gut bacteria promotes immune homeostasis, which means that resident gut bacteria have beneficial nutritional effects and the e...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news