Scientists from Charite – Universitatsmedizin Berlin and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Switzerland have looked at the micro organisms we all carry around and found that, whilst some microorganisms can activate immune cells (leading to certain auto-immune diseases), other microorganisms can help develop an anti-inflammatory response.

They found that one of our body’s own immune system hormones called interleukin 1b works like a ‘switch’ – if it is present, it trains immune cells to become destructive (a dis-regulated immune system) whereas, if it is absent the immune cell develops into an anti-inflammatory counterpart.  It is the microorganism balance we carry in our bodies that determines whether interleukin 1b is produced or not.

This is really interesting – to my mind, it begins to explain why pro biotics have become so popular, and why something like food poisoning (which changes the balance of your micro organisms) might be a ‘trigger’ for autoimmune diseases.

The full article can be found in ScienceDaily at:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120405075223.htm