Healthy microbiota reduces irritability in people with ADHD
There is growing “scientific evidence” that having a healthy gut microbiota (the bacteria that inhabit our digestive system) is “essential” not only for the human body to “function well,” but also for mental health. A study conducted by researchers from Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) from Barcelona have now shown that synbiotics, a combination of probiotics and prebiotics (both of which boost gut flora), are a promising treatment for irritability in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD). This study once again highlights the increasingly clear link between gut microbiota and some patients with mental disorders.
“We already knew from previous studies that patients with ADHD and borderline personality disorder have altered microbiota. And we’ve also seen that in patients with psychiatric symptoms, if we alter the microbiota, they can improve their symptoms,” he explains. Gara Arteagaa psychiatrist at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital and a VHIR researcher. She is one of the most prominent figures in this study, which also involved Semmelweis University in Hungary and the Goethe University Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. The work, published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunityincluded 180 patients aged 20 to 65 years, of whom 113 had ADHD; 44, TLP; and 23 were diagnosed with both pathologies. All of them had symptoms of irritability, and most of them were already taking other medications.
This study aimed to see what would happen if this synbiotic mixture was given to patients with attention deficit disorder and borderline personality disorder who also have “high levels of irritability.”
Of the 180 patients studied, half were given a placebo and the other half were given synbiotics. “We saw that after 10 weeks, the patients we gave synbiotics had a significantly greater response. We saw improvements in irritability and other symptoms like emotional dysregulation and inattention. And how much better they functioned in many areas of their lives and work,” the psychiatrist says.
According to Arteaga, there is growing “scientific evidence” that having a healthy microbiota is “essential” for the body to “function well.” Thus, people with altered microbiota have “more diseases,” such as diabetes. But not only that. “There is a percentage of people with mental disorders who have alterations in the microbiota, because these microbiota bacteria interact with the hormones and inflammatory system of the body, which are necessary for good brain development.” Physical exercise, eating foods with fiber, green leaves or kefir, and getting enough rest help maintain optimal mental health.