A team of researchers from Deakin University’s Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT) have received almost $1 million in funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) to investigate the feasibility of using a probiotic yoghurt, used to support gut bacteria, to improve depressive symptoms in adolescent girls.
Dr Amelia McGuinness from IMPACT’s Food & Mood Centre, says the project will build on her team’s expertise of the relationship between the gut microbiome and mental health disorders.
‘Our team has an extensive track record of original research investigating depression and the gut, as well as gut-focused therapies for depression, including diet and lifestyle, faecal microbiome transplantation, fibre supplementation, nutraceuticals, and fermented foods’.
The project acknowledges that childhood depression is a public health crisis, particularly for girls, and highlights that current treatments are often ineffective, inaccessible, or costly.
‘Girls aged 10-14 are particularly vulnerable and if left untreated, are at greater risk of disrupted relationships, self-harm, hindered academics, poor physical health, increased chance of adult depression and reduced life expectancy,’ Dr McGuinness explains.
ZenZone: a randomised placebo-controlled trial of fermented dairy for adolescent depression
$999,777.32
The project is focused on the gut microbiome, which refers to the trillions of microorganisms that exist in our gastrointestinal system. The research team aims to test if a probiotic-enriched yoghurt, which contains bacteria associated with health benefits, is a feasible treatment option for depressive symptoms in adolescent girls.
In adults, targeting the gut microbiome with probiotics can improve depressive symptoms and can affect neurobiological pathways that are also involved in childhood depression.
Despite these promising findings, no studies have investigated probiotics for childhood depression.
‘We have identified probiotics as an effective way to improve the balance of bacteria in the gut that currently has the most well-established evidence base supporting its potential efficacy for depression, which has informed international clinical guidelines’
‘For our study, we will provide children with a probiotic-enriched yoghurt over the course of eight weeks to support their gut microbiome,’
‘We aim to determine if this approach is an feasible, practical and accessible way to treat childhood depression,’ Dr McGuiness says.
If successful, the research will lead to a larger trial that may provide families with more treatment options for their adolescent girls mental health, and support improved mental health later in life.
Meet the team
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