Anxiety In Your Head Could Come From Your Gut  PHOTO: Doctors
and scientists are further exploring the connection between gut
bacteria and mental health.  Dr. James Greenblatt, a Boston-area
psychiatrist, had a puzzling case: a teenager arrived in his
office with severe obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), as well
as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and an array
of digestive problems.  "Mary's parents had been running around
for many years and she'd had a poor response to medicine," said
Greenblatt, founder of Comprehensive Psychiatric Resources Inc.
in Waltham, Mass. "When a patient doesn't respond, that's a red
flag."  Greenblatt first did a simple urine test for the
metabolite HPHPA, the chemical byproduct of the clostridia
bacteria, and found that it was elevated. He put her on a course
of high-powered probiotics to boost her good bacteria, followed
by antibiotics, and her levels began to "dramatically" go down,
he said.  After six months, Mary's symptoms began to disappear.
And by a year,