Table 1.
16s rRNA sequencing and flow cytometry demographics. Fecal and blood sample donors from control and MS patients. All MS patients had relapse-remitting disease and were free of disease modifying treatment for 3 months prior to donation. Age and BMI are represented by the mean and standard deviation. No significant difference between groups was observed for age and BMI (Wilcoxon’s signed-sum test) or sex (Fishers exact test).
| 16S sequencing (n = 65) | Flow cytometry (chemokines) (n = 41) | Flow cytometry (integrins) (n = 33) | 16S sequencing + flow (n = 35) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female, n (%) | Control | 27 (69) | 16 (76) | 15 (75) | 15 (75) |
| MS | 22 (85) | 19 (95) | 13 (100) | 14 (93) | |
| Age, mean (SD) | Control | 45 (12) | 47 (11) | 46 (11) | 46 (11) |
| MS | 42 (13) | 43 (14) | 43 (14) | 44 (14) | |
| BMI, mean (SD) | Control | 27 (5) | 27 (5) | 27 (5) | 27 (5) |
| MS | 29 (7) | 29 (7) | 30 (5) | 29 (6) | |
| Years since diagnosis, median (range) | MS | 3 (0–29) | 4.5 (0–34) | 8 (0–29) | 6 (0–29) |
| Prior history of immunomodulation, n (%) | MS | 12 (46) | 11 (55) | 7 (54) | 8 (53) |
| Months since prior immunomodulation, median (range) | MS | 10.5 (3–144) | 12 (3–144) | 12 (5–144) | 12 (5–144) |