Anti-inflammatories as Depression Medication? - By: A. Ray

Marcelle Pick, OB-Gyn, an author and health show host, says it's fascinating to watch the western medical community "discover" inflammation, an understanding of which she says is "old hat" in Eastern medicine. An increasing number of studies have linked chronic inflammation to a host of common and serious diseases including cancer, arthritis, allergies, asthma, diabetes, colitis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Inflammation is so closely connected to heart disease that many doctors now test for the critical inflammatory marker C-reactive protein to aid them in a diagnosis.

But even Dr. Pick might be surprised to learn of the latest condition to be associated with inflammation – suicidal depression. McGill University's Group for Suicide Studies in Montreal, Canada, compared the brains of suicide victims to those who had died suddenly of other causes. Their findings led support to their theory that inflammation in the brain plays a key role in depression.

The Canadian research team has been analyzing the brains of suicide victims for almost ten years. Recently, they compared the brains of ten suicides previously diagnosed with depression with ten non-depressed individuals who died suddenly. They focused on star-shaped cells called astrocytes, which earlier studies had discovered were altered in people with depression. Astrocytes are the brain's most prevalent cell, and belong to a group of brain cells known as glial cells.

They found that the astrocytes in the white matter of a region of the suicides' brains associated with emotional regulation were much larger, with more and bigger branches. White matter is found deep within the brain, and allows different parts of the brain to communicate. Cells in the grey matter did not differ in size or appearance between the suicides and those who had died of natural causes.

Astrocytes and are involved in inflammation and immune regulation, among other things, and the researchers believe that their increased size in depressed individuals is the result of inflammation. "This study supports, but does not prove, the hypothesis that inflammation plays a major role in depression," says lead researcher Naquib Mechawar, PhD.

The neuroinflammatory theory of depression says that molecules involved in inflammation play a role in the development of depression. Blood studies have found elevated levels of inflammatory markers in depressed people, and treatments that promote inflammation have been noted to cause depression symptoms. The Canadian researchers can't be sure if the change in astrocytes is a cause or effect of depression, but speculate changes in them would effect communication between different parts of the brain.

According to Dr. Pick, women suffer 75% of all inflammatory disease, which may help explain why major depression is much more common and persistent in women than in men. Inflammation occurs when the body's white blood cells release chemicals to fight what they see as foreign invaders. Often these invaders are things like bacteria or viruses, but sometimes the body mistakenly turns on itself in what's known as an auto-immune response. Inflammation can be either short-lived (acute), such as a healing wound, or chronic, as in asthma and some forms of arthritis. Chronic inflammation can be more destructive than healing.

Various studies have found lower rates of inflammatory diseases in people who regularly take aspirin or N-SAIDS (non steroidal anti-inflammatories), although it is not a recommended practice. Regular use of even over the counter anti-inflammatories can lead to side effects. Visit womentowomen.com to read Dr. Pick's suggestions on natural approaches to avoiding and reducing inflammation.

The neuroinflammatory theory could explain why so many depression patients do not respond to antidepressant drugs. If it's confirmed that inflammation in the brain is linked to depression, than anti-inflammatories could replace or supplement current depression medications.

About the Author

Alex Ray advocates for affordable access to healthcare and medication. She recommends the licensed Canadian pharmacy Big Mountain Drugs as an affordable source of depression medication such as Lexapro, generic Lexapro, Effexor and Effexor XR.

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