A study on male mice conducted by Japanese researchers, and published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, revealed significant increases in gut Akkermansia muciniphila, Bifidobacterium, and Lactobacillus bacteria strains following oral administration of L. paragasseri, which reduced depressive symptoms.
Previous studies have identified major depressive disorders in patients with reduced Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus and suggested a close association between A. muciniphila and depression, the authors say.
Improvements in depressive symptoms, observed in the current study, indicate L. paragasseri may have potential in microbiome therapeutics to encourage bacterial proliferation, the authors write.
“These results suggest that the administration of this strain increases the number of other beneficial bacteria, which may underlie its anti-depressive effect.”
Demand for new treatments
Evidence attests to the role played by the microbiota-gut-brain axis in depressive disorders and validates expert opinion on a correlation between gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction and depression.
The authors argue that antidepressant treatment has a high rate of relapse among patients. In addition, studies indicate medication in childhood and adolescence increases suicidal thinking and behaviour. Such unfavourable outcomes consolidate the need for alternative treatment, they say.
“The development of new treatments for depression are greatly needed. Notably, it has been reported that gut microbiota is involved in the pathogenesis of depressive disorder, and that probiotics are useful for the prevention of depression.”