Abstract
Studies in mice by a team at the University of Colorado have now shown how injections of Mycobacterium vaccae can prevent stress-related inflammatory responses in the brain and reduce stress-induced anxiety behavior. The researchers suggest that if similar results could be generated in humans, they could lead to the development of probiotic-based immunizations that help to protect against or treat disorders such as post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, or depression.
“If you look at the field of probiotics generally, they have been shown to have strong effects in the domains of cognitive function, anxiety, and fear,” comments senior author Christopher Lowry, Ph.D., an associate professor of integrative physiology at CU Boulder. “This paper helps make sense of that by suggesting that these beneficial microbes, or signals derived from these microbes, somehow make their way to the hippocampus, inducing an anti-inflammatory state.”
Studies have also shown that patients with anxiety- and trauma-related conditions have reduced numbers of regulatory T cells (Tregs), while research also suggests that trauma, illness, or surgery can sensitize certain regions of the brain to mount an inflammatory response to subsequent stressors, which can lead to mood disorders.
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