For several years, research has paid close attention to the microbiota, the billions of bacteria that cohabit in our intestine: previous studies have already shown that an imbalance of the intestinal microbiota can be at an increased risk of chronic inflammatory diseases of the intestine (IBD, such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis), and research carried out in 2020 by the Institut Pasteur, Inserm and CNRS, showed that an imbalance in the intestinal microbiota could also… promote the development of depression.
Conclusions which have just been confirmed by a vast study carried out on several thousand Finns by researchers from the Baker heart and diabetes institute (Australia). As they studied thehe underlying causes of chronic disease in Finns, scientists have identified two microbiota bacteria, morganella and Klebsiella, which would play a key role in the development of depression. One of them, Morganella, was even very present in the microbiota of the 181 people in the study who then developed depression.
A discovery that now opens the way to other research: how to eliminate the (bad) bacteria morganella of the intestine to relieve depression?
Can we cure depression with the help of “good” bacteria?
In work published in December 2020 in the journal NatureCommunicationsInserm researchers have discovered that a change in the intestinal flora (caused, for example, by chronic stress) results in particular in a drop in blood and brain levels of lipid metabolites – these small molecules (also called ” endogenous cannabinoids” or “endocannabinoids”) are derived from metabolism.
Problem : endocannabinoids are involved in managing emotions and forming memories. Thus, scientists have discovered that when endocannabinoids are no longer present in the hippocampus (a key region of the brain for memories and emotions), a depressive state occurs.
Good news : if the French researchers found that it was enough to transfer “from the microbiota of an animal with mood disorders to a healthy animalto make the latter depressive, the reverse is also true.
Thus, they showed that with an oral treatment containing the deficient bacteria in the microbiota of people suffering from a depressive state, it is possible to restore a normal level of lipid metabolites and, consequently, to treat the depressive state. A new avenue of treatment for depression, this disease which affects 264 million people worldwide? We hope so.
Source :
Gut microbe linked to depression in large health studyScience, February 2022
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