Could Inflammation Be a Therapeutic Target in Depression?

Perhaps eventually — insights into related neuroimmune networks are growing, but the connections to anti-inflammatory treatments are still weak.

Two research groups have examined how bidirectional signaling between the immune and nervous systems might affect depression and its treatment.

Nusslock and colleagues used functional MRI in 90 25-year-olds to compare resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in four neural networks implicated in depression with scores on a composite measure of inflammation (C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin-6 [IL-6], IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor–α [TNFα]). Higher composite scores were associated with lower rsFC, but only in the emotion regulation network (ERN), which supports cognitive regulation of emotion. This result was replicated in 82 teenagers; higher scores were also correlated with less rsFC in the central executive network (CEN, which m…

Reviewing Author

Steven Dubovsky, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportTower Foundation; Patrick Lee Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; Intra-Cellular Therapies; Janssen; Biogen; Allergan

Editorial BoardsMind and Brain; Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic; Current Psychiatry; Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Steven Dubovsky, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportTower Foundation; Patrick Lee Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; Intra-Cellular Therapies; Janssen; Biogen; Allergan

Editorial BoardsMind and Brain; Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic; Current Psychiatry; Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Could Inflammation Be a Therapeutic Target in Depression?

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Reviewing Author