Psychophysiological Effects of Lactobacillus plantarum PS128 in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder: A Preliminary 8-Week Open Trial

Abstract

Recent studies have suggested that gut–brain axis may be one of the mechanisms of major depression disorder (MDD). The current study aimed to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus plantarum PS128 (PS128) on psychophysiology in patients with MDD. We recruited 11 patients with MDD and gave them PS128 for 8 weeks. We compared depression symptoms, serum markers of inflammation and gut permeability, and gut microbiota before and after 8-week intervention and also explored the correlations among symptoms, biomarkers, and gut microbiota. After 8-week PS128 intervention, scores of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 and Depression and Somatic symptoms Scale significantly decreased. Serum levels of high sensitivity c-reactive protein, interluekin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α, zonulin and intestinal fatty acid binding protein, and the composition of gut microbiota did not significantly change after 8-week PS128 intervention. However, we found changes of some genera were correlated with changes of symptoms and biomarkers. In conclusion, this is an open trial with small sample size and has several limitations. The results need to be verified by randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with larger sample size.

Obesity and Bone: A Complex Relationship

“…[174][175][176]. Similar results are reported by other RCTs [168,170,172,173]. If diet-induced weight loss is combined with exercise training, there is an attenuation of the loss of total hip BMD in older obese patients [168,169,173].…”

“…Similar results are reported by other RCTs [168,170,172,173]. If diet-induced weight loss is combined with exercise training, there is an attenuation of the loss of total hip BMD in older obese patients [168,169,173]. One of the hypotheses that would explain the negative effect of weight loss on BMD is the decreased intestinal absorption of calcium in a manner independent from the effects of vitamin D [172], but this theory needs to be better verified.…”

“…Microbiome science is relatively new and evolving. Gut microbiota (GM) dysbiosis has been identified in various diseases, such as hypertension, Alzheimer disease, type 2 diabetes, depression, and also in obesity [164][165][166][167][168][169]. Several studies have also shown a relationship of GM dysbiosis with bone health [170].…”

The Role of Psychobiotics in Supporting the Treatment of Disturbances in the Functioning of the Nervous System—A Systematic Review

“…In the remaining cases, the study group was diversified [ 56 ], or there was no information about the number of people who were/were not undergoing pharmacotherapy for depression. The probiotics administered in six studies were single-strain [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 64 , 65 ], or contained two [ 60 , 61 , 62 ] or three [ 47 , 53 , 59 ] strains of bacteria in six, three, and two studies, respectively. In the remaining studies, the multi-strain preparation consisted of more than seven strains of bacteria.…”

D-Amino Acids as a Biomarker in Schizophrenia

“…Therefore, the association between gut microbiota and schizophrenia could be involved in schizophrenia pathogenesis [ 72 ]. Likewise, some reports have shown gut microbiota modifications in major depressive disorders [ 73 ]. Remarkably, depressive symptoms are also common features of schizophrenic animals and/or patients [ 74 ].…”