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   Probiotics improve behavioral symptoms of chronic inflammatory diseases in mice   
   Date:   
   July 28, 2015   
   Source:   
   Society for Neuroscience   
   Summary:   
   Probiotics may improve the behavioral symptoms of chronic inflammatory   
   diseases by altering communication between the immune system and the brain,   
   according to an animal study.   
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   FULL STORY   
   Probiotics may improve the behavioral symptoms of chronic inflammatory   
   diseases by altering communication between the immune system and the brain,   
   according to an animal study published July 29 in the Journal of Neuroscience.   
   Chronic inflammatory    
   diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease are   
   associated with behavioral symptoms that include fatigue, depression, and   
   social withdrawal. Researchers at the University of Calgary fed probiotics to   
   mice with liver inflammation    
   and found that the treatment reduced these behaviors.   
      
   The gastrointestinal tract is inhabited by a mass of microorganisms called the   
   microbiota, which supports digestion and immune system health. Probiotics are   
   live bacteria and yeasts that are commonly ingested to support the microbiota,   
   and previous    
   research has demonstrated that probiotics can have beneficial effects on mood   
   and cognition. The mechanism of probiotics' effects on the brain is unclear,   
   but it has been linked to changes in the immune system.   
      
   In this study, mice with liver inflammation were fed either a probiotic   
   mixture or a placebo. The researchers gauged behavioral symptoms by measuring   
   the amount of time the mice spent in social behaviors compared to time spent   
   in isolation. Although it    
   is unclear how inflammatory diseases lead to changes in brain function and   
   behavior, previous research implicates the increased production of the   
   inflammatory signaling molecule tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). Thus,   
   the researchers also measured    
   the amount of TNF-α circulating in the blood and the amount of activated   
   immune cells in the brain.   
      
   They found that:   
      
   Mice that received the probiotics spent more time engaging in social behaviors   
   compared to mice that received a placebo.   
   Mice that received the probiotics had lower blood levels of TNF-α and fewer   
   activated immune cells in the brain compared to mice that received a placebo.   
   Probiotics did not alter the severity of liver inflammation.   
   The findings suggest that probiotics improved behavioral symptoms by altering   
   communication between the immune system and the brain, the researchers said.   
   The results suggest that, "in the setting of inflammatory disease, eating   
   probiotics may be a novel    
   way to improve the disease-associated symptoms that negatively impact the   
   lives of patients," study author Mark Swain said.   
      
   The results have broader implications for the field as well, said Keith   
   Kelley, an immunophysiologist at the University of Illinois at U   
   bana-Champaign who was not involved in the study. "The global implication of   
   these data is that the gut microbiome    
   can perhaps be manipulated to not only regulate immunity but also to regulate   
   the neural circuitry that affects behavior."   
      
      
   Story Source:   
      
   The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Society for   
   Neuroscience. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.   
      
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   Society for Neuroscience. "Probiotics improve behavioral symptoms of chronic   
   inflammatory diseases in mice." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 July 2015.   
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