Severe Depression Linked to Brain Inflammation

According to a new study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, clinical depression is associated with a 30 percent increase of inflammation in the brain. The study set out to investigate whether inflammation is a driver of clinical depression independent of other physical illness. Researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s (CAMH) Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute in Toronto used PET scans to analyze the brains of 20 participants with depression and 20 healthy control participants. The team closely measured the activation of microglia — immune cells that play a key role in the brain’s inflammatory response. The results of the study showed significant inflammation in the brains of people with depression — with inflammation most severe among the participants experiencing the most severe level of depression. The brains of people who were experiencing clinical depression exhibited an inflammatory increase of 30 percent. The discovery holds important implications for developing potential new treatments for a large number of people who suffer from 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,” said the study’s senior author. To read more about this study, click here.