Researchers at Oxford Population Health, along with colleagues in the Netherlands, have demonstrated that 13 types of bacteria found in the gut are associated with symptoms of depression. These bacteria are known to be involved in the production of neurotransmitters that play a key role in depression, such as serotonin and glutamate. The study is published today in Nature Communications.
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders experienced worldwide, with approximately 280 million people having the condition. The treatment options available to people with depression are sub-optimal for many patients and can come with debilitating side effects. Depression is poorly understood as it has been difficult to identify exactly how the changes in neurotransmitters in the brain develop. Although depression is primarily a mental health problem, patients show a wide range of physical problems including disturbances in food intake and a marker increase in the brain and blood.
