People living with multiple sclerosis (MS) often experience worsening symptoms and reduced treatment effectiveness when also living with overweight or obesity. Healthy lifestyle changes, including exercising more or healthy eating, can improve MS outcomes, but not everyone responds the same way. One possible reason for this difference is the microbiome, which is the community of bacteria that live in and on our bodies. While gut bacteria have received a lot of attention, the mouth also hosts a large and important microbiome that could impact health, especially in people living with MS.
Recent research shows that the oral (mouth) microbiome may play a role in inflammation and neurological diseases, but very little is known about how it behaves in people living with MS or how it changes with lifestyle improvements. Dr Olivia Wills and her team will investigate how a weight loss program focused on diet, exercise, and behaviour change therapy, affects the oral microbiome in people living with relapsing remitting MS over a 6-month period.
By analysing saliva samples collected from the mouth at the start of the weight loss program and six months later, Dr Wills aims to understand whether helpful bacteria increase and harmful bacteria decrease. She and her team will also investigate whether fatigue and mood improve. This study builds on an existing clinical trial and will help Dr Wills and her team learn if improving the oral microbiome is part of the benefit of lifestyle changes for people living with MS. This could contribute to more personalised, microbiome-targeted care in the future.
$24,500
2026
1 year
Current project
