Identification of commensal gut microbiota signatures as predictors of clinical severity and disease progression in multiple sclerosisOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
In a longitudinal cohort of 58 MS patients tracked over 4.2 years, baseline gut microbiota predicted disease progression. Worsening disease was marked by depletion of Akkermansia, Lachnospiraceae and Oscillospiraceae and expansion of Alloprevotella, Prevotella-9 and Rhodospirillales; the sulfidogen Bilophila tracked both progression and severity. The inferred metagenome shifted toward oxidative-stress aerobic respiration at the expense of vitamin K2 and short-chain fatty acid metabolism.