2023-06-15 10:07:30
There is growing evidence that gut flora also influences mood: adults who took probiotics in addition to antidepressants improved symptoms of depression and anxiety within eight weeks. The results of the placebo-controlled study were published in the journal “JAMA Psychiatry”.
Supplementation with a probiotic blend of 14 strains of bacteria reduced symptoms in people who were under-treated with medication for major depressive disorder: 49 adults diagnosed with major depression who responded poorly to prescription antidepressants were given probiotics or a placebo. Improvements were seen in both groups over the course of eight weeks, but there was greater improvement in the probiotics group from week four.
The study is one of the first to show both good tolerability of probiotics and positive mental health effects in adults with depression.
Prof James Stone, lead researcher on the study, said: “It is a major problem that people with depression often do not respond or only partially respond to antidepressants. This study is an important first step in exploring the potential of probiotics to treat depression. Probiotics are an acceptable and tolerable supplement for people who are already taking antidepressants. This paves the way for studies of the effects of probiotics on depression and anxiety in larger patient populations.”
Which: DOI 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.1817
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#probiotics #depression
