Attenuation of immune activation in patients with multiple sclerosis on a wheat-reduced diet: a pilot crossover trial

Western lifestyle has been associated with an increase in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). In mice, dietary wheat amylase-trypsin inhibitors (ATIs) activate intestinal myeloid cells and augment T cell-mediated systemic inflammation.

The aim of this study was to assess whether a wheat- and thus ATI-reduced diet might exert beneficial effects in RRMS patients with modest disease activity.

In this 6-month, crossover, open-label, bicentric proof-of-concept trial, 16 RRMS patients with stable disease course were randomized to either 3 months of a standard wheat-containing diet with consecutive switch to a > 90% wheat-reduced diet, or vice versa.

The primary endpoint was negative, as the frequency of circulating pro-inflammatory T cells did not decrease during the ATI-reduced diet. We did, however, observe decreased frequencies of CD14⁺ CD16⁺⁺ monocytes and a concomitant increase in CD14⁺⁺ CD16^- monocytes during the wheat-reduced diet interval. This was accompanied by an improvement in pain-related quality of life in health-related quality of life assessed (SF-36).

Our results suggest that the wheat- and thus ATI-reduced diet was associated with changes in monocyte subsets and improved pain-related quality of life in RRMS patients. Thus, a wheat (ATI)-reduced diet might be a complementary approach accompanying immunotherapy for some patients.

German Clinical Trial Register (No. DRKS00027967).