Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of anxiety and depression have skyrocketed by more than 25%, according to the World Health Organization. With more than 40 million adults in the United States affected by anxiety disorders, people are hungry for practical advice and accessible tools, especially at a time of great collective stress with little innovation in available treatments.
seed healththe company behind the award-winning probiotic DS-01™ probiotic and prebiotic supplement, is on a mission to change that. The brand recently launched a Gut and Brain Development Program in partnership with Axial Therapeutics to translate Caltech research into probiotic innovations for neuropsychiatric health, a branch of medicine that focuses on both neurology and psychiatry. The program targets the microbiome-gut-brain axis for mental health, which is important because of its potential benefit for issues such as anxiety, depression, and stress response.
Abstract Lactobacillus Bulgaricus Bacteria – 3D Rendered Microbiological Image. Medical Investigation, … [+]
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This joint development builds on the work of Axial co-founder and Seed Health board member and board member Dr Sarkis Mazmanian, whose laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) was the first to discover the role of gut microbes and microbial metabolites (compounds produced by microbes) in neuropsychiatric conditions. A primary goal of the program is to use that information to understand how microbiome-targeted treatments can be used to improve mental and emotional well-being, transforming the current treatment paradigm in mental health. The development program will be overseen by Seed Health co-founder and co-CEO Raja Dhir and newly appointed chief scientific officer (CSO) Dr. Dirk Gevers, former director of the Janssen Human Microbiome Institute at J&J.
By the time you’ve finished reading this article, there will likely be five new articles on the topic of the microbiome and the gut-brain connection. Over the past 15 years, this relationship between the nervous system in our gut and that in our head has become a hot topic of research.
Ara Katz, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Seed Health, explained: “The gut-brain connection and the resulting commercialization is an area where evangelism has largely outpaced the data. The rise of ‘psychobiotics’, for example, while often not evidence-based, is evidence of the growing will and hope for new interventions.
When we spoke on Zoom, Katz expressed his excitement about Seed Health’s role in potentially innovating a new paradigm of microbiome-targeted treatments to support mental health in a world that urgently needs more options.
Katz also shared that she was encouraged to see the topic of gut health become more than just a dietary trend, but a real, research-backed tool to support physical, mental, and emotional well-being. “The importance of gut health is now being so well substantiated by science and also so well understood by the general public. I think that in itself is incredibly positive, as is the way it’s filtering through to people beginning to understand that diet is such an important modulator and regulator of what’s going on in the gut.”
She added: “I’m excited about this area because unlike genomics or things related to longevity or other areas where things can feel further away and where you don’t have the agency to make a change, you CAN do something in the next hour. “to improve your microbiome. “What’s also exciting about gut health being so pervasive is that it also extends into areas like diet, exercise, and hydration, which are actually at our fingertips, where people They have so much agency.”
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