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   Distinctive Microbiome Associated With Schizophrenia   
      
   BY JESSICA FIRGER 8/25/15 AT 4:14 PM   
   08_25_bacteria_01 TECH & SCIENCE   
      
      
   A recent study may have found a link between bacteria found in the mouth and   
   throat and schizophrenia. LEONHARD FOEGER/REUTERS   
   FILED UNDER: Tech & Science, neuroscience, schizophrenia, Microbiome,   
   Bacteria, Health and Medicine, brain   
      
      
   Scientists continue to discover ways that the viruses, bacteria and fungi that   
   make a home in the human digestive system--also known as the human   
   microbiome--may help further illuminate how the brain works, why it   
   malfunctions, and especially what causes    
   certain psychiatric illnesses.   
      
   A new study, published Tuesday in Peer J, for example, is a comprehensive   
   analysis of bacteria in the throat of patients with schizophrenia. Researchers   
   at the George Washington University identified differences in the bacteria   
   found in people with    
   schizophrenia compared with people without this psychiatric condition.   
      
   The study looked at the oropharyngeal (mouth and throat) bacteria in 16   
   individuals with schizophrenia and 16 without the psychiatric disorder. It   
   found that those with schizophrenia had higher levels of lactic acid   
   bacteria--a type of bacteria that has    
   been associated with the control of chronic inflammation. Additionally, the   
   researchers found differences in the microbial metabolic pathways of patients   
   with schizophrenia. These pathways are influenced by the levels of certain   
   bacteria, and are related    
   to the transport system of certain compounds, like vitamin B-12 and glutamate,   
   a neurotransmitter.   
      
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   "Our results suggesting a link between microbiome diversity and schizophrenia   
   require replication and expansion to a broader number of individuals for   
   further validation," said Keith Crandall, director of the GWU's Computational   
   Biology Institute and    
   contributing author of the study, in a press statement. "But the results are   
   quite intriguing and suggest potential applications of biomarkers for   
   diagnosis of schizophrenia and important metabolic pathways associated with   
   the disease."   
      
   There are some 100 trillion bacteria in the average person's body,   
   outnumbering even human cells. Researchers already know that the microbiome   
   plays a huge role in human health and may help to determine whether a person   
   develops certain chronic health    
   problems, including psychiatric and neurological conditions, cancer, diabetes   
   and obesity. A number of factors influence the bacteria population in the   
   body, including food, water, pollution and lifestyle habits such as exercise   
   and smoking.    
   Interestingly, another study identified some microbiome differences in   
   patients who took valproate, a drug used to manage seizures and mood disorders   
   that's sometimes prescribed to patients with schizophrenia. In some patients,   
   the drug appeared to    
   impact levels of a certain virus that invades and replicates inside bacteria,   
   which ultimately alters the microbiome.   
      
   Though research is still preliminary, some argue that targeted therapies, such   
   as certain probiotic supplements,  may in the future change the way conditions   
   like schizophrenia are actually treated.   
      
      
      
      
   http://www.newsweek.com/distinctive-microbiome-associated-schizophrenia-365792   
      
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