Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 12, 2008 4:40:16 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Bacteria Battle Depression

Posted Apr 6, 07 8:55 AM CDT in Science & Health 

(Newser) – Clinical depression may be treatable with bacteria, doctors at Bristol University posit. They got the idea when they observed lung cancer patients inoculated with harmless Mycobacterium vaccae who showed reduced symptoms and improved mental health. The brain produces serotonin as an immune response, the docs hypothesized, raising the low serotonin levels associated with depression and resulting in a sunnier outlook.

Successful testing in mice—whose stress levels can apparently be measured by watching how they swim when dropped into a tiny pool—suggests that M. vaccae may work as a vaccination for depression. Test results have also stimulated new theories about the immune system being responsible for the rise in clinical depression.

Source Economist

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon
  (Getty Images)
  (Magnum Photos)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Related articles

Threads (
1
 of 1)

Tags

health  • science  • medicine  • medical research  • depression  • research  • medical breakthrough  • mental health  • vaccine  • stress  • antidepressant  • bacteria  • immune system  • vaccination  • serotonin


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Home Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »