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The microbiome: A new target for research and treatment of schizophrenia and its resistant presentations? A systematic literature search and review
In this 2018 paper, Cuomo et al. reviewed research on the relationship between microbiome, schizophrenia, and treatment resistance, as well as the link between schizophrenia and the immune inflammatory response. Cuomo et al. present studies on probiotic and prebiotic use in schizophrenia. The publications on microbiome, immune-mediated pathology, schizophrenia, and neurodevelopmental disorders were retrieved from the Cochrane Library and PubMed databases, and additional papers were selected from these publications’ references. Given the close relationship between the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system, the authors conclude that a relationship between schizophrenia and microbiota is likely. The key studies identified on this topic are summarized in the full paper. The authors also state that the role of the microbiome and immune-mediated pathology in schizophrenia should be explored further, even in clinical trials, and especially when investigating gut microbiota-altering agents and those that may be capable of influencing gastrointestinal inflammation and its mechanism. The authors found a lack of treatments targeting the microbiome being used in patients with mental illness, particularly in those with schizophrenia. [NPID: mood disorders, psychiatric disorders, gut microbiota, microbiome, schizophrenia, inflammation, probiotics, prebiotics, neurodevelopmental disorders]
Year: 2018
