Researchers in the United Kingdom point to a series of recent studies that suggest that adding anti-inflammatory medication or certain antibiotics to antidepressants may enhance depression treatment.

Dr. Carmine Pariante, MD, PhD, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College, London, United Kingdom, told delegates attending the International Congress of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK about his own research and recent studies that support this treatment approach.

It Might Not Be All In Your Head: The Inflammation/Depression Link

Dr. Pariante said that it is well known that long-term illness is a trigger for depression and that people with chronic disorders also have high levels of inflammatory markers or cytokines. He cited two studies by U.K. scientists that showed that clinical depression increased significantly when people were given medication for hepatitis C and vaccinations against typhoid, both of which are known to raise levels of inflammation.

"My own research has demonstrated high levels of inflammation in a variety of depression models," he added. High levels of inflammation induce depressive symptoms, especially those that are more somatic, such as tiredness, loss of appetite, and disturbed sleep.

The beneficial effect of anti-inflamatory drugs combined with antidepressants on patients with depression has also been documented. In one study, the common anti-inflammatory drug acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) added to a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) improved the response rate and extended time to remission in depressed patients who had failed to respond to 4 weeks of SSRI treatment alone.

Antibiotics May Hold Promise

Dr. Pariante said he is also considering the antibiotic minocycline, which also reduces inflammation, as a possible supplement to antidepressant medication.

"We are interested in minocycline because it is cheap, well tolerated, and has already been used in other samples of patients with mental health problems in the context of inflammation, but never, surprisingly, in depression. It is also important to stress that minocycline is used as an antibiotic, but the anti-inflammatory effects, which we hope to use to help depression, are through a direct anti-inflammatory action that is independent from the antibiotic action."

The ultimate aim, he said, is to "bring forward a program of research using anti-inflammatory action in depression. Minocycline is only one of the options that we are considering."

Source:

Medscape.com