SVT - Inflammation kan leda till depression
27 juni 2013

Omkring en halv miljon svenskar lider av depression, en allvarlig och till och med livshotande sjukdom. Nu visar ny forskning att en stor del av dessa depressioner kan behandlas med något så oväntat som antiinflammatoriska läkemedel.

De senaste årens forskning kring depressioner och andra psykiatriska sjukdomar har inneburit en omvälvande omsvängning i synen på psykiska besvär. Allt mer pekar nämligen mot att immunförsvaret spelar en stor roll, inte bara för vår kroppsliga hälsa utan även för vårt mentala tillstånd. Inflammationer kan få oss att må dåligt, både fysiskt och psykiskt.

När inflammationen i kroppen trycktes tillbaka med den antiinflammatoriska medicinen förbättrades dessa patienters depressioner mycket tydligt. Alla symptom på sjukdomen minskade rejält, inte minst ångest och oro.

the guardian - Is depression a kind of allergic reaction?
Sunday 4 January 2015 17.00 GMT

A growing number of scientists are suggesting that depression is a result of inflammation caused by the body’s immune system

According to a growing number of scientists, this is exactly how we should be thinking about the condition. George Slavich, a clinical psychologist at the University of California in Los Angeles, has spent years studying depression, and has come to the conclusion that it has as much to do with the body as the mind. “I don’t even talk about it as a psychiatric condition any more,” he says. “It does involve psychology, but it also involves equal parts of biology and physical health.”

The good news is that the few clinical trials done so far have found that adding anti-inflammatory medicines to antidepressants not only improves symptoms, it also increases the proportion of people who respond to treatment, although more trials will be needed to confirm this. There is also some evidence that omega 3 and curcumin, an extract of the spice turmeric, might have similar effects. Both are available over the counter and might be worth a try, although as an add-on to any prescribed treatment – there’s definitely not enough evidence to use them as a replacement.

In between five to 10 years, says Carmine Pariante, a psychiatrist at Kings College London, there may be a blood test that can measure inflammation in people with depression so that they can be treated accordingly. Researchers have already come up with a simple finger-prick test that reliably measures inflammation markers in a single drop of blood.