A recent study links the composition of the gut microbiota to the involvement of depressive disorders, with therapeutic perspectives at stake.
Research is underway on the side of intestinal bacteria! In fact, after the dialogue between the microbiota and the brain was recently linked to metabolic diseases such as diabetes or obesity, an article published in Molecular Psychiatry Reports on a new joint study conducted by the Pasteur Institute, Inserme and the National Center for Scientific Research. In this model, the researchers highlight, in an animal model, a new powerful connection between the brain and microbes.
Rat spleen
Thus, after transferring germs from stressed mice to healthy mice, scientists observed symptoms of a depressive state in healthy mice. However, by performing a surgical section on the vagus nerve at the level of the abdomen, it turned out that they were no longer suffering from a depressive state. In short, that the vagus nerve allows direct communication between the gut microbiota and the brain and that severing the vagus is sufficient to protect a person from certain forms of depression. This undoubtedly opens the way for treatment strategies that can relieve the 30% of people who are treated with antidepressants!
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