02/01/2026
The gut microbiota and brain disorders
🗓️ N.B. FREE WEBINAR BY ZOOM = Healing the Brain Through the Gut: Science, Clinical Insight, and Practice – 17 fev, 19h00.
👉 To register for the webinar in English: write "Brain" in the comments to easily get the link.
Review of Charitos et al, 2024.
This review examines how the gut microbiota influences brain function and contributes to neurological, psychiatric, and neurodevelopmental disorders through the gut–brain axis.
🔬 Gut–Brain Communication: bidirectional way via several pathways.
· Neural (especially the vagus nerve)
· Immune (inflammatory signaling)
· Endocrine (hormones)
· Metabolic (microbial metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids)
These pathways allow intestinal bacteria to affect cognition, mood, stress response, and behavior.
🧠 Neurological Disorders: alterations in gut microbiota (dysbiosis) are associated with diseases.
· Parkinson’s disease
· Multiple sclerosis
· Alzheimer’s disease
Proposed mechanisms include chronic inflammation, impaired immune regulation, and disruption of the blood–brain barrier.
💭 Psychiatric Disorders: links between microbiota imbalance.
· Depression
· Anxiety
· Schizophrenia
Gut microbes influence neurotransmitter production (serotonin, GABA, dopamine precursors) and stress-related pathways, affecting emotional regulation and mental health.
👶 Neurodevelopmental Disorders: early-life microbiota composition may play a role.
· Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
· ADHD
Disruptions during critical developmental periods may influence brain maturation, social behavior, and cognitive function.
🌱 Factors Influencing the Microbiota
· Diet and nutrition
· Antibiotic use
· Mode of delivery and breastfeeding
· Environmental exposure
· Lifestyle habits
These factors can promote either microbial balance or dysbiosis.
💊 Therapeutic Approaches: potential interventions targeting the microbiota.
· Probiotics and prebiotics
· Dietary modification
· F***l microbiota transplantation (FMT)
· Personalized nutrition strategies
· Although promising, these approaches still require stronger clinical evidence.
📌 Main Conclusions
· The gut microbiota plays a significant role in brain health and disease.
· Dysbiosis is linked to multiple neurological and psychiatric conditions.
· Modulating the microbiota may offer new therapeutic opportunities.
· More large-scale, well-controlled clinical studies are needed.
🗓️ N.B. TO SEE MORE - FREE WEBINAR BY ZOOM = Healing the Brain Through the Gut: Science, Clinical Insight, and Practice – 17 fev, 19h00.
👉 To register for the webinar in English: write "Brain" in the comments to easily get the link.
