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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by Mtom on July 12, 2020, at 19:00:07
A few Review Studies finding positive results of Probiotics on Depression:
Gut feeling: randomized controlled trials of probiotics for the treatment of clinical depression: Systematic review and meta-analysis Published June 2019 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6595633/
Three studies were reviewed. Two found significant differences in Beck Depression Inventory after 8 weeks of add-on probiotics to antidepressants: -5.7 vs -1.5 in placebo and -9.25 vs -3.19 in placebo. The 3rd study found no difference but used different recruitment protocol, did not assess on a diagnostic scale at baseline, and participants were not taking ADs. Details of probiotic species and doses in the article.The effects of probiotics on depressive symptoms in humans: a systematic review Published Feb 2017 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5319175/
This review of previous studies found that the included studies demonstrate that it is likely that daily consumption of a probiotic supplement could have a positive effect in improving the mood, anxiety, and cognitive symptoms present in MDD. The majority of the studies found positive results with no serious adverse events being reported. It appears that probiotics may have the most significant effect on symptoms of anxiety, which is often co-morbid with MDDAntidepressive Mechanisms of Probiotics and Their Therapeutic Potential published Jan 2020 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2019.01361/full
Another review that goes into some detail about the hypothetical antidepressive mechanisms behind various species and strains.
As these were review studies, links to the individual studies reviewed can be found in the webpages above. Some give details of the types and amounts of probiotic species and strains used.
Posted by Hugh on July 19, 2020, at 13:30:29
In reply to Some Probiotic Studies showing Efficacy, posted by Mtom on July 12, 2020, at 19:00:07
It's likely that in the near future probiotics and prebiotics will play an important role in the treatment of depression and many other mental and physical illnesses.
Recent studies have found that a prebiotic mixture that you can make yourself can have a "remarkable" effect on your health.
This prebiotic mixture is composed of chickpea flour, peanut flour, soy flour, green banana flour, sugar, and soybean oil or olive oil . All of these ingredients can be ordered from Amazon.
Here's the study, which has information on the doses that were used:
Posted by Hugh on August 14, 2020, at 12:19:04
In reply to Re: Some Probiotic Studies showing Efficacy, posted by Hugh on July 19, 2020, at 13:30:29
Supplement Plus Probiotic May Improve Depressive Symptoms
Batya Swift Yasgur, MA, LSW
August 12, 2020
A combination of the supplement S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) and the probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) HEAL9 may rapidly alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety, new research suggests.
A team of Italian investigators randomly assigned 90 patients with subthreshold or mild-to-moderate depression to receive either SAMe plus L. plantarum HEAL9 or placebo for 6 weeks and found significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and cognitive symptoms as early as 2 weeks following treatment initiation.
"The effect of this novel product is independent from the severity of the symptoms, unlike traditional antidepressants available on the market that have minimal benefits for subthreshold or mild-to-moderate symptoms," write the investigators, led by Alberto Saccarello, MD, a physician in private practice in Genova, Italy.
The findings were published online recently in Primary Care Companion CNS Disorders.
Antidepressant drugs are considered to be standard of care for depression treatment and superior to placebo, but their use in subthreshold depression is "controversial" and the effect size of these agents is "strictly associated with the baseline severity of symptoms," the researchers write.
SAMe has been studied as an adjunctive therapy to antidepressant drugs and psychotherapy for mild-to-moderate depression, with its putative antidepressant effects possibly "due to its capability to attenuate oxidative and nitrosative stress that is partially similar to that of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)," they add.
Extensive research has also shed light on the role of microbiota in patients with depressive disorder, suggesting a role for probiotic supplementation. A probiotic called L. plantarum 299v has been found to have a significant effect on stress markers, such as cortisol levels.
The current study compared the effects of a combination of SAMe and L. plantarum HEAL9, which is a probiotic strain similar to L. plantarum 299v, with placebo in patients between the ages of 18 and 60 years (n = 90; mean age, 48.1 years; 82% female) with subthreshold or mild-to-moderate depression.
Most patients were white (95.5%) and employed (70.8%), and roughly half (56.2%) were married.
Patients were excluded if they had one or more psychiatric disorders, such as a substance use or psychotic disorder, or were being treated with psychotropic drugs or other food supplements except for multivitamins, salts, and trace elements.
Participants were required to meet ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for mild-to-moderate depression and were selected if their total score on the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (Z-SDS) was between 41 and 55.
They were randomly assigned to receive placebo (n = 44) or 200 mg of SAMe plus L. plantarum HEAL9 1 x 109 CFU (n = 46).
Although change in the Z-SDS score from baseline to treatment week 6 was the primary outcome, researchers also analyzed changes in other scales related to insomnia, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, and health status.
Compared with patients in the placebo group, those in the treatment group showed greater reductions in Z-SDS total score at 2 weeks (2.78; 95% CI, 5.33 to 0.23, P = .0330) and at 6 weeks (3.55; 95% CI, 6.43 to 0.67; P = .0165).
Additionally, improvement was shown at 6 weeks in the core depression subdomain of the Z-SDS (1.64; 95% CI, 3.07 to 0.22; P = .0247).
At 2 weeks, participants showed significant reductions in the cognitive and anxiety subdomains of the Z-SDS. The Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (Z-SAS), a separate anxiety questionnaire that participants completed, likewise showed a superior reduction in anxiety symptoms (P = .0345).
Researchers also found a greater reduction among those in the treatment group compared with the placebo group on the Birmingham IBS (B-IBS) symptom questionnaire, but it did not reach statistical significance.
In addition, the combination treatment was safe, with no treatment-related adverse effects.
"The superiority of the new product versus placebo is expressed by the statistically significant difference of the mean absolute change of the Z-SDS total score...from baseline to the end of treatment after 6 weeks," the investigators write.
They note that study limitations include the relatively small number of participants and the short treatment period, "hence no long-term conclusions can be drawn."
They recommend that further randomized controlled studies with "prolonged follow-up" be conducted to investigate the effect of the combination treatment in more severe forms of depression or with antidepressants.
Commenting on the study for Medscape Medical News, Richard Brown, MD, associate professor of clinical psychiatry, Columbia University, New York City, said it "addresses the specific need for what one can do for patients with mild-to-moderate outpatient depression because what we know from research is that the antidepressants work for the more moderate-to-severe cases."
For milder cases, "which is a lot of what GPs see, having a treatment that is minimal in side effects and also works fast is great," said Brown, who was not involved with the study.
Moreover, "increasing research suggests that the microbiome plays a role in depression but so far no one has conducted a good study that shows changing the microbiome by giving probiotics helps depression significantly," he noted.
"The fact that [the researchers] showed an effect using this particular probiotic in combination with SAMe is an exciting proof of concept that if we work on the microbiome, we can get a positive effect in depression and maybe other psychiatric disorders," Brown said.
He noted that the "bowel needs a lot of SAMe, which is important in the gut, but we don't know how SAMe and the probiotic are working together, which is an interesting line of research for the future."
Investigators' disclosures are listed in the article. Brown has reported no relevant financial relationships.
Prim Care Compan CNS Disord. Published online June 25, 2020. Abstract
For more Medscape Psychiatry news, join us on Facebook and Twitter.
Posted by Mtom on August 14, 2020, at 13:22:48
In reply to Re: Some Probiotic Studies showing Efficacy, posted by Hugh on August 14, 2020, at 12:19:04
Did just a quick search and didn't quickly find this exact strain being offered commercially. Have you found it anywhere?
Even though this paper says that "SAMe has been studied as an adjunctive therapy to antidepressant drugs", I still have concerns about taking SAMe while on antidepressants. Don't "think" the same concerns would apply taking a probiotic (?).
Other strains that are currently being commercially marketed for Mood based on some published research include a combination of Lactobacillus helveticus Rosell 52ND with Bifidobacterium longum Rosell 175. Also Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 (although the brand I bought does "not" market it for mood (markets it for IBS), at least 1 other does, again based on some recent research).
> Supplement Plus Probiotic May Improve Depressive Symptoms
>
> Batya Swift Yasgur, MA, LSW
>
> August 12, 2020
>
> A combination of the supplement S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) and the probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) HEAL9 may rapidly alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety, new research suggests.
>
> A team of Italian investigators randomly assigned 90 patients with subthreshold or mild-to-moderate depression to receive either SAMe plus L. plantarum HEAL9 or placebo for 6 weeks and found significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and cognitive symptoms as early as 2 weeks following treatment initiation.
>
> "The effect of this novel product is independent from the severity of the symptoms, unlike traditional antidepressants available on the market that have minimal benefits for subthreshold or mild-to-moderate symptoms," write the investigators, led by Alberto Saccarello, MD, a physician in private practice in Genova, Italy.
>
> The findings were published online recently in Primary Care Companion CNS Disorders.
>
> Antidepressant drugs are considered to be standard of care for depression treatment and superior to placebo, but their use in subthreshold depression is "controversial" and the effect size of these agents is "strictly associated with the baseline severity of symptoms," the researchers write.
>
> SAMe has been studied as an adjunctive therapy to antidepressant drugs and psychotherapy for mild-to-moderate depression, with its putative antidepressant effects possibly "due to its capability to attenuate oxidative and nitrosative stress that is partially similar to that of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)," they add.
>
> Extensive research has also shed light on the role of microbiota in patients with depressive disorder, suggesting a role for probiotic supplementation. A probiotic called L. plantarum 299v has been found to have a significant effect on stress markers, such as cortisol levels.
>
> The current study compared the effects of a combination of SAMe and L. plantarum HEAL9, which is a probiotic strain similar to L. plantarum 299v, with placebo in patients between the ages of 18 and 60 years (n = 90; mean age, 48.1 years; 82% female) with subthreshold or mild-to-moderate depression.
>
> Most patients were white (95.5%) and employed (70.8%), and roughly half (56.2%) were married.
>
> Patients were excluded if they had one or more psychiatric disorders, such as a substance use or psychotic disorder, or were being treated with psychotropic drugs or other food supplements except for multivitamins, salts, and trace elements.
>
> Participants were required to meet ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for mild-to-moderate depression and were selected if their total score on the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (Z-SDS) was between 41 and 55.
>
> They were randomly assigned to receive placebo (n = 44) or 200 mg of SAMe plus L. plantarum HEAL9 1 x 109 CFU (n = 46).
>
> Although change in the Z-SDS score from baseline to treatment week 6 was the primary outcome, researchers also analyzed changes in other scales related to insomnia, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, and health status.
>
> Compared with patients in the placebo group, those in the treatment group showed greater reductions in Z-SDS total score at 2 weeks (2.78; 95% CI, 5.33 to 0.23, P = .0330) and at 6 weeks (3.55; 95% CI, 6.43 to 0.67; P = .0165).
>
> Additionally, improvement was shown at 6 weeks in the core depression subdomain of the Z-SDS (1.64; 95% CI, 3.07 to 0.22; P = .0247).
>
> At 2 weeks, participants showed significant reductions in the cognitive and anxiety subdomains of the Z-SDS. The Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (Z-SAS), a separate anxiety questionnaire that participants completed, likewise showed a superior reduction in anxiety symptoms (P = .0345).
>
> Researchers also found a greater reduction among those in the treatment group compared with the placebo group on the Birmingham IBS (B-IBS) symptom questionnaire, but it did not reach statistical significance.
>
> In addition, the combination treatment was safe, with no treatment-related adverse effects.
>
> "The superiority of the new product versus placebo is expressed by the statistically significant difference of the mean absolute change of the Z-SDS total score...from baseline to the end of treatment after 6 weeks," the investigators write.
>
> They note that study limitations include the relatively small number of participants and the short treatment period, "hence no long-term conclusions can be drawn."
>
> They recommend that further randomized controlled studies with "prolonged follow-up" be conducted to investigate the effect of the combination treatment in more severe forms of depression or with antidepressants.
>
> Commenting on the study for Medscape Medical News, Richard Brown, MD, associate professor of clinical psychiatry, Columbia University, New York City, said it "addresses the specific need for what one can do for patients with mild-to-moderate outpatient depression because what we know from research is that the antidepressants work for the more moderate-to-severe cases."
>
> For milder cases, "which is a lot of what GPs see, having a treatment that is minimal in side effects and also works fast is great," said Brown, who was not involved with the study.
>
> Moreover, "increasing research suggests that the microbiome plays a role in depression but so far no one has conducted a good study that shows changing the microbiome by giving probiotics helps depression significantly," he noted.
>
> "The fact that [the researchers] showed an effect using this particular probiotic in combination with SAMe is an exciting proof of concept that if we work on the microbiome, we can get a positive effect in depression and maybe other psychiatric disorders," Brown said.
>
> He noted that the "bowel needs a lot of SAMe, which is important in the gut, but we don't know how SAMe and the probiotic are working together, which is an interesting line of research for the future."
>
> Investigators' disclosures are listed in the article. Brown has reported no relevant financial relationships.
>
> Prim Care Compan CNS Disord. Published online June 25, 2020. Abstract
>
> For more Medscape Psychiatry news, join us on Facebook and Twitter.
>
> https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/935603
>
> https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/935603#vp_2
Posted by Hugh on August 14, 2020, at 15:41:40
In reply to and other strains Re: Some Probiotic Studies, posted by Mtom on August 14, 2020, at 13:22:48
Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL9 is one of two probiotic strains in this supplement:
https://www.hyperbiotics.com/products/immune-defense
It costs $25 for 60 chewable tablets.
HEAL9 is also in this brand:
https://www.amazon.com/Metagenics-UltraFlora-Immune-Booster-Count/dp/B00P8559OE
It costs $40 for 30 capsules, and there are 1 billion live organisms per dose, compared to 3 billion live organisms per dose in the first brand.
Posted by Hugh on August 14, 2020, at 15:57:27
In reply to and other strains Re: Some Probiotic Studies, posted by Mtom on August 14, 2020, at 13:22:48
I took SAMe for over a year, and found it to be somewhat helpful. I wasn't taking any antidepressants at the time. I stopped taking SAMe when I started doing neurofeedback, which was an effective treatment for me -- especially for my anxiety.
The authors of the SAMe and L. plantarum HEAL9 study "recommend that further randomized controlled studies with 'prolonged follow-up' be conducted to investigate the effect of the combination treatment in more severe forms of depression or with antidepressants." So they must be confident that L. plantarum HEAL9 and antidepressants can be combined safely.
Posted by Lamdage22 on January 8, 2021, at 8:26:43
In reply to Re: and other strains Re: Some Probiotic Studies » Mtom, posted by Hugh on August 14, 2020, at 15:57:27
I think the study that found benefits was in autisitic children younger than 12 years. IE: The micrbiome is not as developed in children as in adults.
I want to know if this "HEAL9" is natural or the creation of a lab.
Posted by Mtom on January 8, 2021, at 11:45:23
In reply to Re: and other strains Re: Some Probiotic Studies, posted by Lamdage22 on January 8, 2021, at 8:26:43
The studies linked in original post were specific to Depression. Worth a read...
Gut feeling: randomized controlled trials of probiotics for the treatment of clinical depression: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Viktoriya Nikolova et al. Journal Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology. June 2019
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6595633/The effects of probiotics on depressive symptoms in humans: a systematic review. Caroline J. K. Wallacecorresponding author and Roumen Milev. Journal Annals of General Psychiatry. Feb 2017
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5319175/Antidepressive Mechanisms of Probiotics and Their Therapeutic Potential. Shin Jie Yong et al. Journal Frontiers in Neuroscience. Jan 2020
> I think the study that found benefits was in autisitic children younger than 12 years. IE: The micrbiome is not as developed in children as in adults.
>
> I want to know if this "HEAL9" is natural or the creation of a lab.
Posted by Mtom on January 8, 2021, at 12:06:36
In reply to Re: and other strains Re: Some Probiotic Studies, posted by Lamdage22 on January 8, 2021, at 8:26:43
RE: HEAL9
It is a strain of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (previously Lactobacillus plantarum)If you do a search on PubMed for HEAL9, 7 studies come up. One as referenced above for HEAL9 with SAMe for depression, one for markers of elevated cortisol and inflammation due to Stress, 3 for the Common Cold, 1 in Children with Celiac, and 1 for toxic effects of specific chemicals in animal model.
I have so far found one commercially available Probiotic which contains this strain along with others. Havent done a thorough search, there may be other brands. It is not inexpensive. This brand seems to be being marketed for immune function, specifically mentions reduction of common cold.
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