Vancomycin Study in Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Inclusion criteria

• aged 18 - 50
• newly diagnosed MS (2017 McDonald criteria), CIS or RIS patients, who have experienced symptoms no earlier than the past year
• treatment naive
• able to understand the risks, benefits, and alternatives of participation and give meaningful consent

Exclusion criteria

• antibiotic use within the past 90 days;
• pre- or probiotic use within past month or corticosteroids use within the past month;
• use of tobacco products within the past 1 month;
• history of treatment with immunosuppressants;
• history of gastroenteritis within the past month or diagnosis with a chronic infectious disease, i.e. hepatitis B, C or HIV;
• pregnancy or less than 6 months postpartum;
• irritable bowel syndrome and other bowel dysfunction such as constipation;
• history of bowel surgery;
• inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, diabetes and any other auto-immune illness;
• diagnosis with another neurological disease, behavioral or psychiatric conditions that would be incompatible with a safe and successful participation in the study (such as severe major depression, schizophrenia and presence of psychotic symptoms);
• eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia, or binge eating syndrome;
• travel outside of the country within the past month;
• contraindication to vancomycin including estimated glomerular filtration rate of <60ml/min, impaired hearing or known allergy.
• Contraindication to MRI such as implanted metallic objects