Scientists from Emory University (United States) say that excessive hygiene could be causing the disappearance of bacteria that contribute to the anti-inflammatory response of the human brain that until recently protected us from depression . That could explain why currently the rate of depression among young people exceeds that of the mature population.
Researchers, led by neuroscientist Charles Raison, have studied the immune system of the Western population, and argue that the eradication of our old relationships with microorganisms in the soil, food and intestines could be the cause of the increase in depression in our societies, according to the Archives of General Psychiatry magazine.
"We've known for a long time that people with depression have higher levels of inflammation," Raison explains. "For millennia benign microorganisms , nicknamed 'old friends', have taught our immune system how to tolerate harmful microbes and, in the process, reduce the inflammatory responses linked to the development of most modern diseases, from cancer to depression" adds the researcher. So they have started experiments to see if exposure to these microorganisms could help cure depression. If the results are positive, "the key question will be whether we should put measures to re-expose ourselves to benign environmental microorganisms."
