After noting an odd unexpected plus to an immune-boosting study on lung cancer patients;
That the inclusion of a certain microbe not only reduced inflammation,
But also Boosted their Mood,
Researcher Chris Lowry and his team got a few ideas for a new study of their own.
So instead of doing tests on patients for another disease, they went all Mythbusters and chased after the specific effect they’d Observed;
-In this case, The Mood Lift.
Which they’d found odd, as the original study was looking mainly at increasing survival and had given the participants Precisely-Zero Happy-Drugs.
So Chris and his team took the microbes used earlier, staged a hookah party with their favorite lab mice,
And lo and behold the lowly mycobacterium turned out to Raise Production of Serotonin in Multiple Areas of the Brain.
-BOOM!
++AND, Ones very similar to those acted on by the prescription med, Prozac.
-DOUBLE-BOOM!
They also observed the outward effects in behavior during stress-tests on the lab mice.
Another interesting point revisited by contributing author Graham Rook is that Depression may be/involve some Inflammation In The Brain.
-Because the action of the M.Vaccae mycobacterium was one that produces a mild immune response and eventually Reduces Inflammation; including related things like allergies, etc.
“BUT WAIT!
-I LIKE IMMUNO-SERATOGENIC HOOKAH PARTIES!1! CAN’T I HAVE SOME YUMMY DRUGS TOO, MOM?!!?”, you say…
–Well, depending on where you live, all you’d have to do is Get Outside as the bacteria are in the soil and a person can be exposed through inhalation, just like the test mice.
-Especially if you’re anywhere near the jolly ungulates of Laughing Cow Cheese.
There is also a possibility some might remain on fresh/organic produce.
So now in addition to:
Cats Making you Horny, Stupid and Suicidal,
The Hygiene Hypothesis for Allergies, Inflammation and Auto-Immune Disease, it now looks like a few good bacteria can boost your mood too!
Photo Credits: “tame cow and girl”, by patita rds
Links:
• via: Discover
• More Coverage: BBC | UBristol-Chris Lowry Pubs | PubMed-A randomized pilot study of SRL172 (Mycobacterium vaccae) in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) treated with chemotherapy. | Wikipedia-M.Vaccae
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