MONTREAL—Guy Rousseau, from the Centre of Biomedicine at Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur, presented a study on the effects of Institut Rosell-Lallemand’s probiotic Probio’Stick® on behavioral signs of depression in a rat model of myocardial infarction (MI) at the New York Academy of Science conference "Probiotics: from Bench to Market."
Following a former study that showed the effects of Probio’Stick at the brain cells level in a rat model of post-MI depression, Rousseau's team looked into the effects of Probio’Stick (Lactobacillus Rosell-52 and Bifidobacterium Rosell-175) on rats’ behavioral signs of depression—using social interaction, forced swimming and passive avoidance tests—two weeks following induction of MI. They also studied the effects of the probiotic on pro-inflammatory cytokine content, as well as on the intestinal barrier integrity.
While rats on control diet showed behavioral signs of depression, the probiotic treatment was able to significantly reduce these signs. Probio’Stick also prevented the post‐MI increase of pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1, which is one of the mechanisms involved in the onset of post-MI depression via induction of apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in certain parts of the brain. The study also showed MI has a detrimental effect on the intestinal barrier and that the probiotic was able to restore its integrity. The scientists concluded: “Probio’Stick is effective to reduce post‐MI depressive behavior by a mechanism that could involve pro-inflammatory cytokines and integrity of the intestinal barrier.”
