Differences in bacteria and in biomarkers between patients with multiple sclerosis and control groups. Data are taken from Table 1. Controls described in different studies included individuals without MS (Control), healthy controls (HC) or patients with other neurological disorders (OND). For comparison, IgE, a biomarker for exposure to helminths and protists, is shown in Western, non-allergic individuals versus hunter-gatherers. Panel (A) shows a summary of these differences using the value Beta = ratio of difference between the sample means divided by the average standard deviation. In that panel, each closed circle (all below Beta < 1.5) represents one type of bacteria, the two asterisks (between Beta = 2.0 and 2.5) represent the clinically useful biomarkers TCERG1 and HERV-W, and the open circle indicates IgE. Scatter plots are shown for three bacterial clades: (B) Firmicutes-Blautia, (C) Akkermansia (Beta = 0.257 from Table 1), and (D) Bacteroidetes-Parabacteroides. Scatter plots are also shown for (E) TCERG1, (F) HERV-W and (G) IgE