Bacteria and depression | Bad is good | Economist.com
Bacteria might play a role in depression? I hadn't heard that one before. Here's the story:
Dr O'Brien was trying out an experimental treatment for lung cancer that involved inoculating patients with Mycobacterium vaccae. This is a harmless relative of the bugs that cause tuberculosis and leprosy that had, in this case, been rendered even more harmless by killing it. When Dr O'Brien gave the inoculation, she observed not only fewer symptoms of the cancer, but also an improvement in her patients' emotional health, vitality and general cognitive function...
The theory is that it causes serotonin to be produced i the brain. Studies with mice seemed to support it.
As an added bonus, the article tells me something I didn't know about mice:
The consequence of that release is stress-free mice. Dr Lowry was able to measure their stress by dropping them into a tiny swimming pool. Previous research has shown that unstressed mice enjoy swimming, while stressed ones do not. His mice swam around enthusiastically.
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