RESIDENT: The Gut-Brain Axis and the Microbiome in Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD

Learning Objectives

1. Provide a general review of current theories on how the gut microbiome modulates the immune system and brain activity;
2. Present findings of studies that demonstrate the relationship between the gut microbiome and anxiety disorders, PTSD, and OCD; and
3. Discuss potential treatments for the above disorders that aim to modulate the gut microbiome.

Literature References

1. MacKay M, Yang BH, Dursun SM, Baker GB. The Gut-Brain Axis and the Microbiome in Anxiety Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Curr Neuropharmacol. 2023 Feb 22. doi: 10.2174/1570159X21666230222092029. Epub
ahead of print. PMID: 36815632.

Abstract

A large body of research supports the role of stress in several psychiatric disorders in which anxiety is a prominent symptom. Other research has indicated that the gut microbiome-immune system brain axis is involved in a large number of disorders and that this axis is affected by various stressors. The focus of the current review is on the following stress-related disorders: generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Descriptions of systems interacting in the gut-brain axis, microbiome-derived molecules and of pro- and prebiotics are given. Preclinical and clinical studies on the relationship of the gut microbiome to the psychiatric disorders mentioned above are reviewed. Many studies support the role of the gut microbiome in the production of symptoms in these disorders and suggest the potential for pro- and prebiotics for their
treatment, but there are also contradictory findings and concerns about the limitations of some of the research that has been done. Matters to be considered in future research include longer-term studies with factors such as sex of the subjects, drug use, comorbidity, ethnicity/race, environmental effects, diet, and exercise taken into account; appropriate compositions of pro- and prebiotics; the translatability of studies on animal models to clinical situations; and the effects on the gut microbiome of drugs currently used to treat these disorders. Despite these challenges, this is a very active area of research that holds promise for more effective, precision treatment of these stress.