Serotonin can decrease the severity of infections brought on by the bacterium E. coli O157, a typical reason for gastrointestinal disorder. This raises the intriguing possibility that doctors might use drugs that boost serotonin levels, such as Prozac, to deal with gut bacterial infections.
Consuming food or water contaminated with the bacterium Escherichia coli( E. coli) O157 can cause severe, potentially deadly food poisoning. Symptoms consist of bloody diarrhea, stomach discomfort, and fever.
E. coli O157 and other disease-causing E. coli stress produce a potent contaminant called Shiga.
The National Institutes of Allergic Reaction and Infectious Diseases quote that Shiga toxin-producing E. coli triggers around 265,000 infections each year in the United States. They also estimate that E. coli O157 causes 36%of these infections.
The World Health Organization (WHO) do not advise using prescription antibiotics to deal with E. coli O157 infections. They indicate that antibiotics may make the infection even worse by increasing the threat of problems.
Research at the University of Texas (UT) and Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS, now suggests that drugs that increase serotonin levels, such as the antidepressant Prozac(fluoxetine), could work as potential treatments.
The scientists discovered that serotonin ‘reprograms’ E. coli O157 to produce less toxic substances, lowering the severity of the infection.
” Treating bacterial infections, especially in the gut, can be really challenging,” says Vanessa Sperandio, Ph.D., a professor of microbiology and biochemistry at UT Southwestern Medical Center and senior author of the brand-new study. “If we could repurpose Prozac or other drugs in the very same class, it might give us a brand-new weapon to combat these difficult infections,” she continues.
The researchers’ released their findings in the journal Cell Host & Microorganism
Scientists know that serotonin works in the brain, where it passes signals in between afferent neuron and helps manage sleep and mood, to name a few functions.
What is less well known is that the gut is house to 95% of all the body’s serotonin, where it controls defecation and influences hunger as part of the enteric nerve system.
According to Cell Host and Microorganism, research studies show that changes