Cooperative Living March 2024 - 22

HEALTHYTAKE
Getting Cultured
Healthy bacteria can help fi ght depression or anxiety
Story courtesy of UVA Health
U
niversity of Virginia School of Medicine researchers
have discovered how Lactobacillus, a bacterium
found in fermented foods and yogurt, helps the body
manage stress and may help prevent depression and anxiety.
Th e fi ndings open the door to new therapies to treat
anxiety, depression and other mental health
conditions.
Th e new research from UVA's
Alban Gaultier, Ph.D., and
collaborators is notable because
it pinpoints the role of
Lactobacillus, separating it from
all the other microorganisms
that naturally live in and on
our bodies. Th ese organisms
are collectively known as the
microbiota, and scientists
have increasingly sought
to target them to battle
disease and improve human
health. UVA's new research
represents a major step forward
in that eff ort, providing scientists
with an innovative new approach
to understanding the role of individual
microbes that could facilitate the development of
new treatments and cures for a wide variety of diseases,
both mental and physical.
" Our discovery illuminates how gut-resident
Lactobacillus infl uences mood disorders by tuning the
immune system, " says Gaultier, of UVA's Department of
Neuroscience, the Center for Brain Immunology and Glia.
" Our research could pave the way toward discovering
much-needed therapeutics for anxiety and depression. "
MICROBIOTA AND DEPRESSION
Our digestive systems are home to countless bacteria,
fungi and viruses. Th ere are more microorganisms living in
and on us than there are cells in our bodies. Th at may sound
alarming, but scientists have increasingly realized that these
tiny organisms are a good thing.
Th eir endless interactions are critical to our immune
systems' health, our mental health, and many other facets
20 * Cooperative Living * March 2024
of our well-being. Researchers have been hugely excited
in recent years about the potential to battle diseases by
targeting the microbiota.
Gaultier and his team took an innovative approach,
homing in on Lactobacilli specifi cally.
" We were aware from our prior
research that Lactobacillus was
benefi cial in improving mood
disorders and was lost following
psychological stress, but the
underlying reasons remained
unclear, primarily due to
the technical challenges
associated with studying
the microbiome, " he says.
the technical challenges
associated with studying
the microbiome, " he says.
are collectively known as the
Lactobacillus
helps the body
manage stress.
Gaultier and his team
decided to continue their
depression research using
a collection of bacteria,
known as altered Schaedler
fl ora, which includes two
strains of Lactobacillus and six
other bacterial strains. Th rough
research, Gaultier and his colleagues
were able to explain exactly how
Lactobacilli infl uence behavior, and how a
lack of the bacteria can worsen depression and anxiety.
FUTURE SUCCESS LOOKS PROMISING
Armed with this information, researchers are now
poised to develop new ways to prevent and treat depression
and other mental health conditions in which Lactobacillus
plays an important role. For example, patients struggling
with (or at risk for) depression might one day take specially
formulated probiotic supplements that will optimize their
levels of helpful Lactobacillus.
" With these results in hand, we have new tools to
optimize the development of probiotics, which should
speed up discoveries for novel therapies, " says researcher
Andrea R. Merchak, Ph.D. " Most importantly, we can now
explore how maintaining a healthy level of Lactobacillus
and/or interferon-gamma could be investigated to prevent
and treat anxiety and depression. "
*
co-opliving.com
decided to continue their
depression research using
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living March 2024

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