What’s GABA got to do with it? A potential link between the microbiome, schizophrenia, and the endocannabinoid system

Schizophrenia is a complex and misunderstood disease, leaving its patients with limited therapeutic avenues and an unsympathetic prognosis. The microbiome has been extensively linked to numerous neurological and psychiatric diseases, including schizophrenia. A distinct liability in correlating microbial perturbations to pathophysiological aspects of schizophrenia lies in the fact that most study participants will be medicated at the time of sample collection. Thus, any potential mechanistic investigation is complicated by an additional unknown external effect. This study is unique in that it explores specific microbial and metabolic alterations in patients grouped by medications. Further, this study reveals interesting metabolic trends that may be valuable towards unearthing a pathophysiological mechanism for schizophrenia, which is currently lacking.