Harnessing the power of gut bacteria to treat Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

A significant gift from the Salah Foundation has provided crucial support to University of California San Francisco (UCSF)–one of the nation’s leading neuroscience institutes–in its pursuit of advancing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research. Through this collaboration, they are making remarkable strides toward achieving measurable repair and developing long-term treatment options.

UCSF visiting graduate Alicia Sanchez Sanz studies how the microbiome relates to multiple sclerosis in Sergio Baranzini’s lab at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus. (Photo by Noah Berger)

The human gut is home to over a trillion bacteria. Most of these bacteria are harmless—and many are even helpful—but scientists have found that certain types of bacteria, when present for long periods, may raise the risk of developing serious conditions like multiple sclerosis (MS). People with MS often have a different mix of gut bacteria compared to healthy individuals, and we believe that by changing the gut bacteria in people with MS, we might be able to restore a healthier balance and potentially reduce symptoms or slow the disease.

UCSF Prof. Sergio Baranzini, right, and staff research associate Joseph Amayo load cells into a robot to isolate RNA for sequencing at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus. (Photo by Noah Berger)

Thanks to the generous contributions from the Salah Foundation, Alexandra’s Angels has equipped the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences with essential funding for research aimed at developing treatments and finding a cure for Multiple Sclerosis and related Through generous support from the Salah Foundation, our team evaluated the safety and tolerability of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in persons with MS. This procedure involves transferring bacteria from the gut of a healthy donor into the gut of a person with MS. We observed that the procedure was safe and tolerable, and while choosing the right donor or bacterial community for intervention need to be carefully evaluated, this strategy represents an attractive and promising avenue for the development future treatments. We are grateful to the Salah Foundation for making this work possible. Their support is helping to pave the way for new and innovative treatment options and is offering real hope to people living with MS and their families.. Alexandra’s Angels is committed to biologically validating potential biomarkers designed to measure remyelination and repair in MS. We have no words to express our gratitude to Noreen Salah Burpee and other board members for their support.