Department of Anatomy, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland.
Nutrients. 2021 Dec 23;14(1):37. doi: 10.3390/nu14010037.
A growing number of studies in rodents indicate a connection between the intestinal microbiota and the brain, but comprehensive human data is scarce. Here, we systematically reviewed human studies examining the connection between the intestinal microbiota and major depressive and bipolar disorder. In this review we discuss various changes in bacterial abundance, particularly on low taxonomic levels, in terms of a connection with the pathophysiology of major depressive and bipolar disorder, their use as a diagnostic and treatment response parameter, their health-promoting potential, as well as novel adjunctive treatment options. The diversity of the intestinal microbiota is mostly decreased in depressed subjects. A consistent elevation of phylum Actinobacteria, family Bifidobacteriaceae, and genus , and a reduction of family Ruminococcaceae, genus , and genus was reported. Probiotics containing and/or spp. seemed to improve depressive symptoms, and novel approaches with different probiotics and synbiotics showed promising results. Comparing twin studies, we report here that already with an elevated risk of developing depression, microbial changes towards a "depression-like" microbiota were found. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of the microbiota and the necessity for a better understanding of its changes contributing to depressive symptoms, potentially leading to new approaches to alleviate depressive symptoms via alterations of the gut microbiota.
越来越多的啮齿动物研究表明肠道微生物群与大脑之间存在联系，但全面的人类数据仍然稀缺。在这里，我们系统地回顾了检查肠道微生物群与重度抑郁症和双相情感障碍之间联系的人类研究。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了细菌丰度的各种变化，特别是在低分类水平上，这些变化与重度抑郁症和双相情感障碍的病理生理学有关，它们可用作诊断和治疗反应参数，以及它们的促进健康的潜力，以及新的辅助治疗选择。在抑郁患者中，肠道微生物群的多样性大多降低。报道了厚壁菌门、双歧杆菌科和属的一致性升高，以及毛螺菌科、罗氏菌属和瘤胃球菌属的减少。含有和/或属的益生菌似乎能改善抑郁症状，而不同益生菌和合生菌的新方法也显示出有前景的结果。通过比较双胞胎研究，我们在这里报告说，即使存在发展为抑郁症的风险增加，也会发现向“类似抑郁”的微生物群变化。总的来说，这些发现强调了微生物群的重要性，以及需要更好地理解其变化对抑郁症状的贡献，这可能会导致通过改变肠道微生物群来缓解抑郁症状的新方法。
