Major depression is linked to inflammation of the brain.
People experiencing clinical depression have 30% higher brain inflammation, the recent research found.
The more depressed people were, the greater the levels of inflammation.
Professor Jeffrey Meyer, who led the research, said: “This finding provides the most compelling evidence to date of brain inflammation during a major depressive episode. Previous studies have looked at markers of inflammation in blood, but this is the first definitive evidence found in the brain.”
The brain typically protects itself through inflammation, but too much can be harmful.
The inflammation may generate some of the symptoms of depression, including: loss of appetite, low mood, and sleep problems.
One potential way of helping to treat depression is by using anti-inflammatories.
Professor Meyer warned, however, that brain inflammation isn’t the whole story: "Depression is a complex illness and we know that it takes more than one biological change to tip someone into an episode. But we now believe that inflammation in the brain is one of these changes and that’s an important step forward.”
To read the full article, click the link below.
Category(s):Depression
Source material from Psyblog
