Chris Kresser: Ariel asked, “In stool test results, can abundance of any of the following gram-negative genres potentially trigger autoimmune response: Prevotella, Fusobacterium, Proteus, and Citrobacter? If so, what testing would you then request to check for autoimmune antibodies? [Does] the presence or abundance of these organisms change your treatment method?”
Not really. I think they just are indicative of general dysbiosis. There is some research correlating the presence of those species with autoimmunity, but I don’t think it’s solid enough to say, “Oh, these are present, so, therefore, the patient has autoimmune disease.” We still just look at it as general dysbiosis. I have seen a bit of a correlation clinically with some of those bacteria and autoimmune conditions, but it doesn’t tend to change the treatment plan that much.