Gut Bacteria Enterotype Shows Link to Depression

The first population-level study on the link between gut bacteria and mental health identifies specific gut bacteria linked to depression and provides evidence that a wide range of gut bacteria can produce neuroactive compounds.

In their manuscript entitled ‘The neuroactive potential of the human gut microbiota in quality of life and depression’ the researchers studied the relation between gut bacteria and quality of life and depression. The authors combined faecal microbiome data with general practitioner diagnoses of depression from 1,054 individuals enrolled in the Flemish Gut Flora Project. They identified specific groups of microorganisms that positively or negatively correlated with mental health. The authors found that two bacterial genera, Coprococcus and Dialister, were consistently depleted in individuals with depression, regardless of antidepressant treatment.

Prof. : ‘The relationship between gut microbial metabolism and mental health is a controversial topic in microbiome research. The notion that microbial metabolites can interact with our brain - and thus behaviour and feelings - is intriguing, but gut microbiome-brain communication has mostly been explored in animal models, with human research lagging behind. In our population-level study we identified several groups of bacteria that co-varied with human depression and quality of life across populations.’

Previously, Prof. and his team identified a microbial community constellation or enterotype characterized by low microbial count and biodiversity that was observed to be more prevalent among Crohn’s disease patients. In their current study, they surprisingly found a similar community type to be linked to depression and reduced quality of life.

Prof.: ‘This finding adds more evidence pointing to the potentially dysbiotic nature of the Bacteroides2 enterotype we identified earlier. Apparently, microbial communities that can be linked to intestinal inflammation and reduced well-being share a set of common features.’

The authors also created a computational technique allowing the identification of gut bacteria that could potentially interact with the human nervous system. They studied genomes of more than 500 bacteria isolated from the human gastrointestinal tract in their ability to produce a set of neuroactive compounds, assembling the first catalogue of neuroactivity of gut species. Some bacteria were found to carry a broad range of these functions.

"Many neuroactive compounds are produced in the human gut. We wanted to see which gut microbes could participate in producing, degrading, or modifying these molecules. Our toolbox not only allows to identify the different bacteria that could play a role in mental health conditions, but also the mechanisms potentially involved in this interaction with the host. For example, we found that the ability of microorganisms to produce DOPAC, a metabolite of the human neurotransmitter dopamine, was associated with better mental quality of life.’

These findings resulted from bioinformatics analyses and will need to be confirmed experimentally, however, they will help direct and accelerate future human microbiome-brain research.

The researchers are now preparing another sampling round of the Flemish Gut Flora Project that is going to start next spring, five years after the first sampling effort.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/       
                                                                                                                                                                      FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                  https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/           
                                                                           FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                  https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com

Diabetes may change your behaviour

Insulin resistance in the brain can actually cause behavioural changes in diabetics, a new study has found.

People with diabetes are more prone to anxiety and depression than those with other chronic diseases that require similar levels of management, researchers said.

Scientists genetically modified mice to make their brains resistant to insulin.

They found the animals exhibited behaviours that suggest anxiety and depression, and then pinpointed a mechanism that lowers levels of the key neurotransmitter dopamine in areas of the brain associated with those conditions.

"This is one of the first studies that directly shows that insulin resistance in the brain actually can produce a behavioural change," said C Ronald Kahn, Joslin Diabetes Centre's Chief Academic Officer and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

The research team assessed the genetically modified mice in multiple tests that place mice under stress and are commonly used to analyse drugs that treat anxiety and depression.

Young mice behaved much like normal mice, but mice tested at 17 months of age ("which is starting late middle-age for mice," noted Kahn) displayed significant behavioural disorders.

Examining the brains of these mice, the scientists found altered metabolism in mitochondria, which produce energy for cells.

Among the changes, the mitochondria increased production of two enzymes that degrade dopamine, a major transmitter of brain behaviour.

"These mice release a normal amount of dopamine, but because of these changes in the mitochondria they metabolise that dopamine faster, and it's not around as long," said Kahn.

"We think that contributes to these behaviours, and in fact when we give the mice antidepressants that work by slowing dopamine degradation, we can correct some of the behavioural changes," said Kahn, senior author on a paper published in the journal PNAS.

Although the behavioural effects were not seen in the younger genetically modified mice, the scientists detected similar changes in their brain cells as well.

It is not clear why the changes in behaviour might increase with age, Kahn said, but the effect is common among mouse models of neurological disorders, and is seen in the same human neurological diseases.

Previous research in both mice and humans has made connections between insulin resistance and other neurodegenerative conditions, especially Alzheimer's disease.

 THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.








PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO VIEW MY BLOG-
HTTP:GSEASYRECIPES.BLOGSPOT.COM 
 

FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-

HTTP://KNEE REPLACEMENT-STICK CLUB.BLOGSPOT.COM/

FOR CROCHET DESIGNS

HTTP://MY CROCHET CREATIONS.BLOGSPOT.COM