Probiotics not just good for gut, but for your mood disorders too

The effect of probiotics or good bacteria is conveyed to the brain through the gut brain axis

Probiotics may be good for more than just your gut health. They may also help treat bipolar disorder and other psychiatric mood disorders, because of the intimate relationship between gut health and brain health. There is in fact a connection called the “gut-brain axis” (GBA), allows for crosstalk between the endocrine, immune, and autonomic nervous systems.

Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric condition characterised by dramatic shifts in mood from depression to mania. Currently, the standard treatment includes a combination of psychotherapy and prescription medications such as mood stabilisers and antipsychotics.

However, an emerging field of research is exploring the use of probiotics — often thought of as “good bacteria” — as a potential new avenue for treatment of bipolar and other psychiatric mood disorders.

There is also mounting evidence linking imbalances in the microbial species that make up the gut microbiome to a number of health problems including allergies, autoimmune disorders, and psychiatric mood disorders

A study found that a probiotic supplement may reduce inflammation of the gut, which is known to exacerbate bipolar disorder.

Probiotic organisms are non-pathogenic bacteria that, when present in the gut flora, are known to improve the overall health of the host.

The GI tract is also home to the intestinal microbiome, a complex population of roughly 100 trillion microorganisms (more than ten times the number of cells that make up the human body) that interacts with the mucosal lining of the GI tract. Studies have shown that the intimate association between the gut microbiome and GI tissue has a significant effect on the GBA.

There is also mounting evidence linking imbalances in the microbial species that make up the gut microbiome to a number of health problems including allergies, autoimmune disorders, and psychiatric mood disorders.

In the case of bipolar disorder and the GBA, previous studies have shown that inflammation, or over-stimulation of the body’s immune system, is a contributing factor in the disease.  With this in mind, researchers developed a probiotic supplement aimed at reducing inflammation caused by microbial imbalances in the gut.

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Nicotine normalises brain activity in schizophrenia patients

A steady stream of nicotine normalises genetically-induced impairments in brain activity associated with schizophrenia, according to a new study that could lead to new non-addictive, nicotine-based treatments for the 51 million people worldwide who suffer from the disease. 

The finding sheds light on what causes the disease and why those who have it tend to smoke heavily. 

It could also potentially have applications for treating addiction, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Bipolar disorder and other psychiatric conditions. 

"Our study provides compelling biological evidence that a specific genetic variant contributes to risk for schizophrenia, defines the mechanism responsible for the effect and validates that nicotine improves that deficit," said Jerry Stitzel, researcher at the Institute for Behavioural Genetics (IBG) in the US. 

The study found that when mice with schizophrenic characteristics were given nicotine daily, their sluggish brain activity increased within two days. Within one week it had normalised. 

"Basically the nicotine is compensating for a genetically determined impairment. No one has ever shown that before," said Stitzel. 

The scientists set out to explore the underlying causes of "hypofrontality"?a reduction of neuronal firing in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. 

Hypofrontality is believed to be the root cause of many of the signature cognitive problems experienced by schizophrenics, including trouble paying attention, remembering things, making decisions and understanding verbal explanations. 

Previous genome-wide association studies have suggested that people with a variation in a gene called CHRNA5 are more likely to have schizophrenia, but the mechanism for that association has remained unclear. People with that variant are also more likely to smoke. 

Eighty to 90 per cent of people with schizophrenia smoke and most are very heavy smokers, a fact that has long led researchers to suspect they are self-medicating. 

The research team first took mice with the CHRNA5 gene variant and used state-of-the-art brain imaging technologies to see if they had hypofrontality. 

Then they conducted behavioural tests to see if the mice shared key characteristics of schizophrenics, like being unable to suppress a startle response and being averse to social interaction. 

The results validated that the gene variant likely plays a role in schizophrenia by causing hypofrontality, said Stitzel. 

Nicotine appeared to reverse this in the mice, normalising brain activity by acting on nicotinic receptors in regions of the brain key to healthy cognitive function. 

The study appears in the journal Nature Medicine. 

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