They had previously identified gut bacteria that are more common in patients with Crohn’s disease. The team of Jeroen Raes, professor of microbiology at the Belgian university KU Leuven, has this time discovered connections between certain bacteria in the intestine and the probability of suffering from depression. In a published study in the review Nature Microbiology this Monday, February 4, the researchers indeed explain how they studied the correlation between the microbiotathat is to say of all the micro-organisms of the belly, and the Mental Health.
For this, they analyzed the stool samples of more than 1000 participants. However, they observed that two families of bacteria were systematically less numerous in depressed people, including those on antidepressants. These are the coprococcus and dialerknown for their anti-inflammatory properties. “We also know that inflammation of nerve tissue plays an important role in depression. So our hypothesis is that the two are linked in one way or another.explains Jeroen Raes, cited by the Quebec newspaper.
Links between gut and brain
Although the study does not demonstrate a cause and effect link between the quantity of these bacteria and depression, it does make it possible to take a step forward in understanding the links between the intestine and the brain. These are only in their infancy, according to the professor. But “the idea that substances resulting from the metabolism of microbes can interact with our brain (and therefore with our behavior and our feelings) is intriguing”he continues.
Thanks to the analysis of the genome of more than 500 intestinal bacteria, the researchers were thus able to establish a “catalogue” of substances that can impact our brain and our nervous system. For example, the ability of the microbiota to produce 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid or more simply DOPAC (resulting from the breakdown of dopamine) would be associated with better mental health.
Currently, scientists point out, antidepressants are among the most prescribed drugs in many countries. This research could therefore open the way to new types of drugs for this pathology. “I really think it’s a way of the future: using mixtures from bacteria as a treatment”he believes.
Read also :
- Genetics influence the bacteria in our gut
- Depression: what if you lack dopamine?
- Gut microbiota implicated in Alzheimer’s disease
