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