Probiotics are likely to improve depression. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Probiotics and the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis: Focus on Psychiatry.
Curr Nutr Rep. 2020 May 13. Epub 2020 May 13. PMID: 32406013
Sabrina Mörkl
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Probiotics are living bacteria, which when ingested in adequate amounts, confer health benefits. Gut microbes are suggested to play a role in many psychiatric disorders and could be a potential therapeutic target. Between the gut and the brain, there is a bi-directional communication pathway called the microbiota-gut-brain axis. The purpose of this review is to examine data from recent interventional studies focusing on probiotics and the gut-brain axis for the treatment of depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.
RECENT FINDINGS: Probiotics are likely to improve depression but not schizophrenia. Regarding anxiety, there is only one trial which showed an effect of a multispecies probiotic. However, determinants like the duration of treatment, dosage and interactions have not been thoroughly investigated and deserve more scientific attention. Microbiome-based therapies such as probiotics could be cautiously recommended for depression to enhance beneficial bacteria in the gut and to improve mood through the gut-brain axis.