JERUSALEM, July 22 (Xinhua) -- At least one strain of intestinal bacteria can slow the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which may lead to new treatments for the disease, the Weizmann Institute of Science, located in central Israel, reported Monday.
ALS is a rare and incurable muscular dystrophy that affects the motor nerve cells and causes paralysis that gradually spreads to all parts of the body.
In the study, published in the journal Nature, symptoms of the disease slowed down after mice, genetically engineered to develop ALS-like disease, received certain strains of intestinal bacteria or substances secreted by these bacteria.
The scientists showed that the symptoms of ALS-like disease in the mice worsened after they received antibiotics that destroyed much of their intestinal bacteria.
The team then examined the intestinal bacteria and levels of various substances in the blood of 37 people with ALS. Genomic analysis showed that the composition and activity of intestinal bacteria were different in ALS patients from healthy individuals.
