A randomized cross-over trial of prebiotics and probiotics in multiple sclerosis: Trial feasibility, supplement tolerability and symptom abatement.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Copper (Supplement) in the context of multiple sclerosis, published as a randomized controlled trial.

Dietary supplements can modulate the gut microbial ecosystem and affect the immune system.

This has potential implications for autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS).

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 22 participants taking part.

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

The researchers assessed supplement tolerability and patient-reported outcomes (PRO) relevant to MS (disability, fatigue, mood, and bowel symptoms) before and after each supplement administration period and each washout period.

The researchers bio-archived plasma, serum, peripheral blood mononuclear cells and stool samples at each timepoint for future multi-omic assessment.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, open-label and crossover.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Copper (Supplement) and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Nothing was hidden in this open-label Copper (Supplement) study: the participants and staff both knew the treatment.

In the crossover set-up each of the participants took both Copper (Supplement) and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Dietary Supplements, Feasibility Studies, Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting, Patient Reported Outcome Measures, Prebiotics and Probiotics.

The authors tagged it with the keywords Bowel function, Microbiome and Randomized trial.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, open-label and crossover study of Copper (Supplement) in 22 participants in people with multiple sclerosis.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Its findings take up roughly 8 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2024 (Multiple sclerosis and related disorders), a journal based in Netherlands.

More context: the Copper (Supplement) compound page, Multiple sclerosis research.