DecreasedClostridiumAbundance after ElectroconvulsiveTherapy in the Gut Microbiota of a Patient with Schizophrenia

Relationships between gut microbiota and various disease pathogeneses have been investigated, but those between the pathogenesesof mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, and gut microbiota have only recently attracted attention. We observed a change inthe gut microbiota of a patient with schizophrenia after administering electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). A 59-year-old woman wasdiagnosed with schizophrenia at 17 years of age and has been taking antipsychotic drugs since the diagnosis.Clostridium,whichoccupied 86.5% of her bacterial flora, decreased to 72.5% after 14 ECT sessions, whileLactobacillusincreased from 1.2% to 5.5%,andBacteroidesincreased from 9.1% to 31.5%. Previous studies have shown thatClostridiumspp. are increased in patients withschizophrenia compared with those in healthy individuals and thatClostridiumis reduced after pharmacological treatment. Ourreport is the first report on the gut microbiota of a patient with schizophrenia receiving ECT. Our results indicate that studiesfocusing onClostridiumto clarify the pathogenesis of schizophrenia as well as potential therapeutic mechanisms may be beneficial.However, further studies are needed