Stool preservative tube

A total of 57 treatment-naïve patients diagnosed with definite MS—according to the latest McDonald criteria [95 (link)]—of the relapsing–remitting subtype (RRMS) and 43 healthy controls (HC), matched for age and gender, were recruited at the MS center, Carmel Medical Center, Israel, following a protocol approved by the Institutional Review Board (0034-13-CMC, 26 December 2013), and all participants provided written informed consent. Inclusion criteria were age 18–67 years, without antibiotics/probiotics/corticosteroids treatment within the last month, and no irritable bowel disease (IBD), other autoimmune disease, or history of gastric/bowel surgery. Healthy participants had no known relative with MS up to 2nd degree. Fecal samples were obtained using a stool preservative tube (Norgen Biotek, Thorold, ON, Canada), frozen immediately at arrival at clinic, and kept at −80° until DNA extraction. All participants completed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and a Mediterranean diet score (MDS) questionnaire. Demographic and clinical data were recorded. The FFQs were analyzed at the Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, for daily intake of energy and 74 various nutrients [96 (link)]. The MDS is a 17-item Mediterranean diet adherence screener, adapted to the Israeli population [97 (link)].

A total of 57 treatment-naïve patients diagnosed with definite MS—according to the latest McDonald criteria [95 (link)]—of the relapsing–remitting subtype (RRMS) and 43 healthy controls (HC), matched for age and gender, were recruited at the MS center, Carmel Medical Center, Israel, following a protocol approved by the Institutional Review Board (0034-13-CMC, 26 December 2013), and all participants provided written informed consent. Inclusion criteria were age 18–67 years, without antibiotics/probiotics/corticosteroids treatment within the last month, and no irritable bowel disease (IBD), other autoimmune disease, or history of gastric/bowel surgery. Healthy participants had no known relative with MS up to 2nd degree. Fecal samples were obtained using a stool preservative tube (Norgen Biotek, Thorold, ON, Canada), frozen immediately at arrival at clinic, and kept at −80° until DNA extraction. All participants completed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and a Mediterranean diet score (MDS) questionnaire. Demographic and clinical data were recorded. The FFQs were analyzed at the Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, for daily intake of energy and 74 various nutrients [96 (link)]. The MDS is a 17-item Mediterranean diet adherence screener, adapted to the Israeli population [97 (link)].