Inflammation Of The Brain Linked To Severe, Crippling Depression

A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry shows that severe clinical depression may be linked to inflammation of the brain. Though the body uses inflammation to protect itself, too much can be damaging to the tissues.

For the study, researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health's (CAMH) Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute in Toronto, Canada used positron emission tomography (PET) to scan the brains of 20 patients with depression and 20 healthy control participants.

The PET scans showed significant inflammation in the brains of people with depression; this was even more severe among those with chronic mental health issues, exhibiting a 30 percent increase.

Previous studies have looked at inflammation markers in the blood of depressed individuals to help determine if it is a responsible contribution to the health problem.

"Our results support a pathway from childhood depression to increased levels of CRP, even after accounting for other health-related behaviors that are known to influence inflammation," said lead study author Dr. William Copeland of Duke University Medical Center, via Medical News Today. "We found no support for the pathway from CRP to increased risk for depression."

"This discovery has important implications for developing new treatments for a significant group of people who suffer from depression," added Dr. Jeffrey Meyer, a Canada Research Chair in the neurochemistry of major depression. "It provides a potential new target to either reverse the brain inflammation or shift to a more positive repair role, with the idea that it would alleviate symptoms."

While severe depression if only estimated to affect roughly 4 percent of the population, some may not respond to various anti-depressants. Researchers hope that future studies can uncover new treatments related to inflammation markers.

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