MND microbiome study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Longitudinal multi-omics of host–microbe dynamics in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
IRAS ID
312195
Contact name
Christopher J McDermott
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Sheffield
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 31 days
Research summary
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or motor neuron disease) is the result of a complex interaction between patient genetics and the environment. We know this because although certain genetic changes have been identified which cause motor neuron death, most patients with ALS do not carry any of these changes and have no family history of the disease. One way in which the environment can affect the body, including the brain, is the bacteria within our gut. Gut bacteria are relatively easy to manipulate making them an ideal target for design of new ALS treatments. Interestingly the population of gut bacteria within an individual is influenced by other environmental features which have been linked to ALS such as diet, exercise and antibiotic use. Gut bacteria have been linked to the development of neurodegenerative diseases similar to ALS. Our first aim is to determine whether gut bacteria influence the development and severity of ALS. Our study is carefully designed; gut bacteria in ALS patients will be compared with gut bacteria in controls who are matched for diet, BMI and environment to avoid spurious signals. Our second aim is to integrate measures of gut bacteria with sequencing of patient genomes – capturing both sides of the gene-environment interaction avoids confounding by genetic heterogeneity but also opens the door to personalized medicine in which a specific treatment may be targeted at patients with good genomes and bad gut bacteria or visa versa. We will also begin collecting pilot data to investigate how chemicals produced by gut bacteria may impact disease severity.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/EM/0199
Date of REC Opinion
25 Aug 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion