乳果糖调节肠道微生物并改善抑郁症状的研究进展

Research progress in the regulation of gut microbiota and mitigation of depressive symptoms by lactulose

摘要:

抑郁是一种常见的情绪障碍，对个体的情绪和认知功能产生显著的负面影响，多见于其他疾病共患病中。随着抑郁年轻化趋势加重，抑郁对我国精神健康事业产生严重影响。近年来，随着肠道菌群研究的深入，抑郁症状与肠道菌群的关系愈发引起重视，而乳果糖作为一种用于促进肠道健康且对认知功能和情绪存在一定的改善作用的药物，引起了人们对其在改善抑郁症状方面的临床应用的关注。本文综述了乳果糖在改善抑郁症状方面的一些临床研究成果，并概述了一些乳果糖改善抑郁症状可能的机制，对通过肠-脑轴改善抑郁症状提出了展望。

Abstract:

Depression is a prevalent affective disorder exerting negative impacts on an individual’s emotional and cognitive functions and is commonly complicated with other diseases. As depression is affecting increasingly younger populations, it poses a serious challenge to the mental health initiatives in China. In recent years, the relationship between depressive symptoms and gut microbiota has garnered increasing attention, fueled by the deepening research on gut microbiota. Lactulose, a medication aimed at promoting gut health and known for its potential benefits on emotional and cognitive functions, has sparked interests regarding its clinical application in ameliorating depressive symptoms. This article reviews the clinical research findings on the efficacy of lactulose in alleviating depressive symptoms and outlines the potential mechanisms through which lactulose may mitigate these symptoms. Furthermore, this article offers a perspective on the mitigation of depressive symptoms through the gut-brain axis.