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Gut microbiota connects the brain and the heart: potential mechanisms and clinical implications

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Abstract

Nowadays, high morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and high comorbidity rate of neuropsychiatric disorders contribute to global burden of health and economics. Consequently, a discipline concerning abnormal connections between the brain and the heart and the resulting disease states, known as psychocardiology, has garnered interest among researchers. However, identifying a common pathway that physicians can modulate remains a challenge. Gut microbiota, a constituent part of the human intestinal ecosystem, is likely involved in mutual mechanism CVDs and neuropsychiatric disorder share, which could be a potential target of interventions in psychocardiology. This review aimed to discuss complex interactions from the perspectives of microbial and intestinal dysfunction, behavioral factors, and pathophysiological changes and to present possible approaches to regulating gut microbiota, both of which are future directions in psychocardiology.

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Funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (to LY, 82070405), the Leading Talent of Changzhou “The 14th Five-Year Plan” High-Level Health Talents Training Project (to LY, No. 2022260), the Changzhou Key Medical Discipline (to LY, No. CZXK202202), and the Jiangsu Province’s 333 Research Project (to RZ, 2022, 3-4-109).

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  1. Yi Zhang and Kai Huang contributed equally to this work.

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  1. Department of Cardiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, 213003, China

    Yi Zhang, Kai Huang, Jiahao Duan, Rong Zhao & Ling Yang

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  1. Yi Zhang
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LY and RZ conceived this work. YZ and KH drafted the manuscript. LY and JD conducted the review and revision. All the authors have approved the final manuscript.

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Zhang, Y., Huang, K., Duan, J. et al. Gut microbiota connects the brain and the heart: potential mechanisms and clinical implications. Psychopharmacology 241, 637–651 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-024-06552-6

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