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Inflammatory Biomarkers in Depression: An Opportunity for Novel Therapeutic Interventions

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Abstract

Currently available antidepressants are effective in less than two thirds of depressed patients, with even lower remission rates in the context of co-morbid medical illness. A rapidly expanding evidence base suggests that maladaptive inflammatory immune responses may be a common pathophysiology underlying depression, particularly in the presence of a general medical condition. The inflammatory hypothesis of depression marks a significant shift away from monoamine-based approaches and is a major step towards developing novel treatments that directly target causal factors of depression. Many antidepressants exert anti-inflammatory effects and there is an emerging literature documenting the efficacy of anti-inflammatory agents as adjunctive treatments for depression. Identification of inflammatory biomarkers in depression will require a re-conceptualization of both the diagnostic phenomenology and the experimental approaches to studying multi-determined psychiatric disorders. In addition to their application in diagnosis, predicting prognosis, and monitoring severity and response to treatment, inflammatory biomarkers may serve as novel therapeutic targets in the treatment of depression.

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Disclosure

Dr. Li received payment for a plenary presentation at the Toronto Psychopharmacology Update 2011 on the topic covered in this commentary.

Ms. Soczynska has received travel funds from Janssen and was the recipient of the Eli Lilly Fellowship.

S.H. Kennedy has received research funding or honoraria in the past three years from AstraZeneca, Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen-Ortho, Lundbeck, Pfizer, St. Jude Medical and Servier.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, University Health Network/Princess Margaret Hospital and University of Toronto, 16-749 610 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9, Canada

    Madeline Li

  2. Institute of Medical Science, University Health Network/Princess Margaret Hospital and University of Toronto, 9M-312A 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 2S8, Canada

    Joanna K. Soczynska

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University Health Network/Princess Margaret Hospital and University of Toronto, EN8-222 200 Elizabeth Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C4, Canada

    Sidney H. Kennedy

Authors
  1. Madeline Li
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  2. Joanna K. Soczynska
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Correspondence to Madeline Li.

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Li, M., Soczynska, J.K. & Kennedy, S.H. Inflammatory Biomarkers in Depression: An Opportunity for Novel Therapeutic Interventions. Curr Psychiatry Rep 13, 316–320 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-011-0210-6

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