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   Unusual throat and mouth germs linked to schizophrenia   
      
      
   Two separate studies say that a specific type of bacteria is found 400 times   
   more in schizophrenic patients.   
      
   Accoring to two new studies, people with schizophrenia harbour different   
   collections of oral bacteria than those without the mental illness.   
   Published on Sep 06 2015   
   Amy Ellis Nutt   
   THE WASHINGTON POST   
   People with schizophrenia harbour different collections of oral bacteria than   
   those without the mental illness, according to two new studies. The findings   
   suggest that changes in mouth and throat germs may be associated with the   
   disease and could offer a    
   new tool for diagnosis involving a test as simple as a saliva sample.   
   Lactic acid bacteria, or Lactobacillus gasseri, was found to be at least 400   
   times more abundant in schizophrenic patients than control subjects, according   
   to a study published last week in the journal PeerJ.   
   "Essentially we wanted to know whether the microbiome (the totality of   
   microbes in the human body) was significantly different in individuals with   
   schizophrenia versus controls," said lead author Eduardo Castro-Nallar in an   
   email, "because there's    
   evidence that the microbiome may play a role in other behavioural conditions   
   such as depression and anxiety."   
   Lactobacillus gasseri is naturally found in human breast milk and yogurt and   
   is a probiotic often sold as a health supplement or weight loss pill, but the   
   researchers did not link breastfeeding, yogurt or probiotic supplements to   
   schizophrenia.   
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   In research published in the Schizophrenia Bulletin, scientists at Johns   
   Hopkins School of Medicine and the Stanley Research Program at Sheppard Pratt   
   Health System, also found a viral form of Lactobacillus, the phiadh phage,   
   which infects bacteria and    
   alters their replication, was significantly higher in individuals with   
   schizophrenia.   
   "The level of Lactobacillus phage phiadh correlated with the prevalence of   
   immunological disorders . . . which has been shown in animal models to alter   
   the microbiome," the Johns Hopkins study said.   
   As a probiotic, Lactobacillus is considered beneficial to the human body,   
   enhancing the immune system and aiding digestion. Found chiefly in the   
   intestines, it has also been linked to the regulation of emotional behaviour   
   and anxiety.   
   Castro-Nallar, of George Washington University's Computational Biology   
   Institute, noted that a lactate-utilizing bacterium present in human feces and   
   an opportunistic fungus were also present at higher levels in the   
   schizophrenic group. His research    
   looked at only a small sample of subjects, 16 with schizophrenia and 16   
   without. The Johns Hopkins study relied on 41 schizophrenic subjects and 33   
   controls.   
   There are about 100 trillion bacteria in an average person's body and these   
   bacteria are affected by everything from food to cigarette smoking to   
   pollution.   
   Both journal articles said further study was needed, particularly to determine   
   whether changes in bacteria in the human body contribute to schizophrenia, are   
   a result of schizophrenia or have no connection at all.   
      
      
      
      
   http://m.thestar.com/#/article/life/health_wellness/2015/09/06/u   
   usual-throat-and-mouth-germs-linked-to-schizophrenia.html   
      
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