The bacteria in your gut don’t just break down food. According to Dr. Veena Taneja, an immunologist at Mayo Clinic’s Center for Individualized Medicine, they can also can predict susceptibility for rheumatoid arthritis.
Over 1.5 million Americans have rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disorder in which the body mistakenly attacks itself. The body breaks down tissues around joints, causing painful swelling in the joints. At present, scientists have a limited understanding of the processes that trigger rheumatoid arthritis.
Dr. Taneja and her collaborators were able to identify intestinal bacteria as a possible cause; their studies demonstrate that testing for specific microbiota in the gut can aid physicians in predicting and preventing the onset of rheumatoid arthritis.
The study which involved patients, their relatives, and a healthy control group intended to find a biomarker—some substance that could indicate the condition—that predicts susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis. The team noted that an abundance of certain rare bacterial lineages led to a microbial imbalance characteristic of rheumatoid arthritis patients.
The scientists examined mice, and found a link between the gut microbe Collinsella and the presence of arthritis. These intestinal microbiota and metabolic signals could be used to create a profile to determine who is more susceptible to developing rheumatoid arthritis and to understand the course the condition will take.
Further research demonstrated that arthritis-susceptible mice treated with a bacterium, Prevotella histicola, had a reduction in both the frequency and severity of symptoms associated with the disease and a lower number of inflammatory conditions and side effects.
Human trials have not occurred as of now, but studies in mice show promise. The presence of these bacteria may lead to new ways to diagnose patients and to reduce the imbalance that causes rheumatoid arthritis before or in its early stages.
For more information, visit: mayoclinic.org/