Forsythe explained that the more an individual’s microbiome loses its variety, the more the overall equilibrium of the body declines. The microbiome not only plays a role in digestion and disease prevention, but also in signaling parts of the brain related to mood and behavior. (image: Pixabay)
SEOUL, May 4 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent scientific study has reported that intestinal bacteria may be the key to treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). On May 2, Dr. Paul Forsythe from the Brain-Body Institute at McMaster University in Canada announced through Medical News Today that the configuration of an individual’s microbiome, the aggregate of the various bacteria that inhabit small and large intestines, could play a vital role in the treatment and prevention of mood disorders such as PTSD, anxiety disorder, and depression.
PTSD, the focus of this study, is an extreme form of anxiety disorder in which patients ceaselessly recall a life-threatening traumatic event (such as a violent encounter, rape, terror event, earthquake, flood etc.), experience nightmares, and consistently display high tension in behavior.
The research team led by Forsythe proved this connection through a series of experiments on mice. For 10 days, researchers exposed smaller mice to larger, aggressive mice for two minutes every day, with the smaller mice displaying symptoms of extreme anxiety and stress such as trembling and loss of appetite.
The research team compared sampled feces from the stressed mice and the non-stressed mice groups, and found a loss of variety and extreme imbalance in the microbiomes of the stressed mice group. The research team then extracted bacteria from the feces of non-stressed mice and injected them into the stressed mice, and observed the initially stressed mice continually improve for several weeks.
Forsythe explained that the more an individual’s microbiome loses its variety, the more the overall equilibrium of the body declines. The microbiome not only plays a role in digestion and disease prevention, but also in signaling parts of the brain related to mood and behavior.
Forsythe predicted that microbiome configuration could one day become a stress biomarker for diagnosing PTSD and individuals in danger of developing PTSD. He further noted that using probiotics or antibiotics to restore the equilibrium of a microbiome could be effective in immediate PTSD treatment and prevention.
Dr. Linda Chrissy from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), who commissioned the study, stated that the results prove the vital role of intestinal bacteria in the body’s response to tense situations such as military battles. Chrissy believes the discovery will help PTSD treatment and prevention for military personnel.
The research results were published in the latest issue of ‘Journal of Psychiatry’ in Canada.
Esther J. Kim (editor@koreabizwire.com)
