The human immune system is powerful and complex. It must be on guard at all times and be able to distinguish friend from foe. Unfortunately, it does not always get it right and sometimes attacks the body’s own cells, causing hundreds of ‘autoimmune’ diseases, from multiple sclerosis (MS) to rheumatoid arthritis.
What causes the immune system to err in this way is not clear, but a growing body of research is looking at the trillions of microbes that share our bodies, known collectively as the microbiome, for an answer.
Studies of twins indicate that lifestyle, or environmental, factors can play a large role in autoimmune diseases.
‘If you just look at the concordance rate in twins (where both twins show the same trait), for instance for MS, it’s only about 30% which is inherited. So the rest must be environment,’ said Professor Markus Kleinewietfeld from the VIB Institute in Belgium.
Many different environmental factors are suspected of affecting the risk of autoimmune conditions, including diet.
