The rise in mental health awareness within the last decade has prompted conversation about how to improve treatment options for patients that suffer from various mental health disorders. Interestingly enough, current research suggests that the intestinal microbiome may play a significant role in the development of major depressive disorder. These consequential findings are critical for inspiring innovative approaches to healthcare and could be essential for revolutionizing the lives of people seeking treatment for mental illness in a new era of medicine.
A new approach to medicine.
One illness, in particular, that has been found to be associated with the condition of the intestinal microbiome is major depressive disorder. According to a journal article provided by Wiley online, the interaction between gut microbiota and dysfunctional intestinal mitochondria is thought to negatively impact the formation of metabolites and the permeability of the intestines, leading to an increased presence of “bad” bacteria in patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Bacteria belonging to the genus Bacteroides were primarily at play in the cellular associations that contribute to signs and symptoms involved in the characterization of major depressive disorder. These findings provide considerable insight into the development of alternative methods to treat mental health disorders that exclude the use of psychoactive medications, which is often observed in today’s society. The experience of side effects resulting from the use of these medications is a common deterrent for people seeking treatment for mental health disorders. However, research efforts aimed at examining the intricacies of cellular functioning in the intestines appears to offer promising transformations in the treatment options available to these patients, which may include the use of probiotics or nutritional advising in the future, as an alternative to psychoactive drugs.
Dogs?
Humans, however, are not the only subjects being studied to shed light on the intricate network of cellular functions that contribute to pathological disorders, such as major depression. The Journal of Applied Sciences includes a study performed on German Shepherds, which reveals similarities in the intestinal microbiome between dogs and humans suffering from depression. The findings discussed in this article suggest that gut bacteria release substances that directly impact neurological functioning, which can contribute to mood and behavioral changes commonly associated with major depressive disorder in humans and dogs. This study also found that bacteria belonging to the genus Bacteroides was present in greater amounts in dogs suffering from depression, which is consistent with the results of the article mentioned above. Not only does this article offer insight that contributes to the complexity of the interactions between the nervous system and the microbiome, but it also provides an interesting perspective on the resemblance of human microbiota in dogs, which should be considered during further investigations on the influence of gut microbiota in the development and treatment of depression.
Marvelous Microogranisms 