An unhealthy gut can affect a person’s physical and mental health as it leads to a loss of immunity and the potential for ailments such as gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular disease, anxiety, stress and depression.
a new one study suggests that patients taking antidepressants may experience less symptoms of psychiatric disorders after using probiotics to improve gut health.
The researchers analyzed 49 adults diagnosed with major depressive disorder who had not fully responded to prescribed antidepressants. Participants took antidepressants for eight weeks. In addition to the treatment, 24 of them took a probiotic supplement containing 14 types of bacteria, and the rest took the same placebo.
After eight weeks, all participants’ symptoms improved. However, those who supplemented with probiotics showed significant improvement from week four onwards.
The researchers observed that probiotics had a strong effect on reducing both depression and anxiety, with an even greater effect on anxiety symptoms.
“Non-response or partial response to antidepressants is a huge problem and this study is an important first step in exploring the therapeutic potential of probiotics for depression. We found that probiotics are acceptable for people already taking antidepressants and tolerated supplements. Now, this paves the way to study whether we see beneficial effects of probiotics on depression and anxiety in more patients,” said Dr. explain James Stone, senior researcher on the study.
An estimated 280 million people worldwide suffer from depression. study Research shows that three out of five people with depression do not fully respond to first-line treatment with antidepressants and continue to experience symptoms.
New research suggests the use of probiotics as an adjunctive treatment and as an antidepressant, while paving the way for further research into the benefits of probiotics for emotional and mental health.
“The gut-brain axis is a really fascinating and rapidly developing area of microbiome research. The results of this pilot study are an important step forward in our understanding of the role of probiotics in emotional and mental health,” explains Dr. Viktoriya Nikolova, author of the study the first author of .
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Published by Medicaldaily.com