Depressive Disorder, Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Gut Microbiota

DOI Web Site
  • KUNUGI Hiroshi
    Department of Mental Disorder Research, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • うつ病・自閉症と腸内細菌叢
  • ウツビョウ ・ ジヘイショウ ト チョウ ナイ サイキンソウ

Search this article

Description

Depressive disorder is a chronic stress-induced condition, which has been suggested to have bidirectional interactions with the gut microbiota. Animal studies have suggested that probiotics mitigate stress responses, and ameliorate depressive-like behaviors and related abnormalities in the brain. Only a few studies have directly investigated the gut microbiota of patients with depressive disorder. We have reported that individuals with lower bacterial counts of Bifidobacterium and/or Lactobacillus are more common in patients with major depressive disorder than in healthy controls. In agreement with this, a clinical trial showing the beneficial effect of probiotics in the treatment of depressive disorder has come out. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often manifest gastrointestinal symptoms, and such symptoms are known to correlate with the severity of ASD, suggesting the involvement of gut microbiota in the pathophysiology of ASD. Several changes in the gut microbiota, such as altered bacterial counts of Clostridium and Sutterella, have also been reported, although results vary across studies. Gut microbiota-oriented therapies such as probiotics and fecal microbiota transfer therapy are ongoing for ASD children, which should lead to new horizons in the treatment of ASD.<br>

Journal

Keywords

Details 詳細情報について

Report a problem

Back to top