Depression is often associated with Helicobacter pylori and the success of its treatment.
In this recent research paper, it was shown that people infected with these bacteria have lower levels of BDNF (a brain health marker considered a promising biomarker of depression) and higher levels of GFAP (a protein known as a marker of astroglia pathology in depression) in their blood, a change that is strongly related to depression symptoms. The researchers also found that a combined marker including BDNF, GFAP, gut hormone levels, and gastrointestinal symptoms scores was able to accurately predict depression in infected patients.
These findings suggest that these markers could be used to detect depression in people with H. pylori infection.
Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2024.137687
Reference
Zhao, E., Yu, Q., Wang, M., Wang, Z., Jiang, B., Ma, X., Zhou, B., Dai, Q., Li, J., Wang, S., Chen, F., & Yang, X. (2024). Value of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor and glial fibrillary acidic protein for detecting depression in patients with Helicobacter pylori infection. Neuroscience letters, 825, 137687.