Is Depression an Inflammatory Disorder?

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Charles L Raison, Emory University; Andrew H Miller, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2011-12
• Publisher: Springer (part of Springer Nature): Springer Open Choice Hybrid Journals
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011
• Final Published Version (URL): http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11920-011-0232-0
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Current Psychiatry Reports
• ISSN: 1523-3812
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 6
• Start Page: 467
• End Page: 475
• Grant/Funding Information: Dr. Miller has received grant support and support for travel to meetings from the National Institute of Mental Health.
• Keywords: Tumor necrosis factor-α; Autonomic nervous system; Glucocorticoids; Quinolinic acid; Psychosocial stress; Cytokines; Major depression; Tryptophan; Fatigue; Immune; Interleukin-6; Inflammation; p38 mitogen-activated kinase; Kynurenine
• Research Categories: Psychology, Behavioral

Abstract

Studies consistently report that groups of individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) demonstrate increased levels of a variety of peripheral inflammatory biomarkers when compared with groups of nondepressed individuals. These findings are often interpreted as meaning that MDD, even in medically healthy individuals, may be an inflammatory condition. In this article, we examine evidence for and against this idea by looking more closely into what the actual patterns of inflammatory findings indicate in terms of the relationship between MDD and the immune system. Data are presented in support of the idea that inflammation only contributes to depression in a subset of patients versus the possibility that the depressogenic effect of inflammatory activation is more widespread and varies depending on the degree of vulnerability any given individual evinces in interconnected physiologic systems known to be implicated in the etiology of MDD. Finally, the treatment implications of these various possibilities are discussed.