Bipolar disorder is a really common psychiatricdisorder, with up to three million people affected each year in the United States alone. A great deal is already known about treatment options and the causes of this disorder, such as the fact that genes may play a significant role in its development. However, we still do not know everything, as it appears that the bacterial flora of the gastrointestinal tract may be related to bipolar disorder .

There has been a lot of talk about gut bacteria and their impact on the functioning of the human organism for several years at least. One noteworthy fact is that it is likely that the bacterial flora of the gastrointestinal tract can influence the nervous system - the term gut-brain axis has even appeared in the literature for some time. But what would be the connection between gut bacteria and BPAD? Well, an abnormal composition of the gastrointestinal flora may lead to the development of a specific inflammatory state in the body, but also result in over-stimulation of the immune system - both phenomena may, in a way that is admittedly unclear at this point, favour episodes of bipolar disorder.

The link between the bacterial flora of the gastrointestinal tract and BPAD seems to be confirmed by studies conducted to date. These have been conducted in the United States, among others. For example, patients who had been hospitalised for episodes of mania were studied - some of them (in addition to standard pharmacotherapy) were given probiotics, while others were given a placebo. In the probiotic group, the incidence of hospitalisation was lower, and hospital stays were also shorter.

There is certainly still a long way to go before probiotics are routinely prescribed to BPAD patients, but these reports once again show that the bacterial flora of the gastrointestinal tract can have a far greater impact on the human organism than we had previously thought.