Cort Johnson posted the story of someone that was misdiagnosis as MS but went into remission from Copaxone or Glatiramer acetate. I am always interested in such stories to see if my model is confirmed, contradicted or the information is insufficient to come to any conclusions.

As the article (and wikipedia) states: “Like many drugs the mechanism or mechanisms by which Copaxone is somewhat mysterious.” and also “The MS drug worked very well for 6 weeks until she began developing what looked like an allergic reaction to it.”

• “Glatiramer acetate-treated patients with multiple sclerosis showed differences in community composition compared with untreated subjects, including Bacteroidaceae, Faecalibacterium, Ruminococcus, Lactobacillaceae, Clostridium, and other Clostridiales…..  Glatiramer acetate and vitamin D supplementation were associated with differences or changes in the microbiota.” [2015] — this is from an on humans study

Concerning MS as a whole:

• “A shorter time to relapse was associated with Fusobacteria depletion (p=0.001 log-rank test), expansion of the Firmicutes (p=0.003), and presence of the Archaea Euryarchaeota (p=0.037). After covariate adjustments for age and immunomodulatory drug exposure, only absence (vs. presence) of Fusobacteria was associated with relapse risk (hazard ratio=3.2 (95% CI: 1.2-9.0), p=0.024). Further investigation is warranted. Findings could offer new targets to alter the MS disease course.” [2016]
• “this suggests that many of the clostridial species associated with MS might be distinct from those broadly associated with autoimmune conditions. Correcting the dysbiosis and altered gut microbiota might deserve consideration as a potential strategy for the prevention and treatment of MS.” [2015]
• TNFR2 Deficiency Acts in Concert with Gut Microbiota To Precipitate Spontaneous Sex-Biased Central Nervous System Demyelinating Autoimmune Disease.[2015]
• Role of intestinal microbiota in the development of multiple sclerosis.[2015]
• Dysbiosis in the Gut Microbiota of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis, with a Striking Depletion of Species Belonging to Clostridia XIVa and IV Clusters. [2015]
• Gut microbiota in multiple sclerosis: possible influence of immunomodulators. [2015]

Bottom Line

Since MS has recently been identified to involve dysbiosis (bad gut bacteria mixtures), then any effective MS drug may also modify the microbiota. In this specific case, we have had a human study demonstrate that this drugs does alter gut bacteria — which may account for the change. The evidence hints that her story supports the model that I am using.