Bacterial Changes May Trigger Diseases Like Rheumatoid Arthritis

Larger-than-normal populations of specific gut bacteria may trigger the development of diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and possibly fuel disease progression in people genetically predisposed to this crippling and confounding condition, say the researchers, who are participating in the Mayo Illinois Alliance for Technology Based Healthcare. The researchers found that hormones and changes related to aging may further modulate the gut immune system and exacerbate inflammatory conditions in genetically susceptible individuals. These findings were published in the following research paper: Andres Gomez, David Luckey, Carl J. Yeoman, Eric V. Marietta, Margret E. Berg Miller, Joseph A. Murray, Bryan A. White, Veena Taneja. Loss of Sex and Age Driven Differences in the Gut Microbiome Characterize Arthritis-Susceptible *0401 Mice but Not Arthritis-Resistant *0402 Mice. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (4): e36095 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0036095 To read more, see Mayo Clinic