Stephan: On June 1st SR published the first report on this potentially life altering research, linking depression with inflammation; very good news indeed. Here is another take on this subject, which also includes some good recommendations about how to fight inflammation holistically.
Reading this reminded me of the work of two obscure Australian physicians, Barry Marshall and Robin Warren, who turned medicine on its head when they proved that ulcers were not the result of stress as the medical establishment was certain was the case, but were actually the result of Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium with affinity for acidic environments, such as the stomach, and that the correct treatment was not antacids, but antibiotics. They were ignored for years but ended up winning the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology 2005.
Hopefully with this new research on inflammation we can begin to effectively treat at least some of the depression which afflicts hundreds of millions around the world.
Source Citation: Soledad Cepeda, M., Stang, P., & Makadia R. (2016) Depression Is Associated With High Levels of C-Reactive Protein and Low Levels of Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide: Results From the 2007-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. J Clin Psychiatry. 1666-71.
Credit: Everyday Health
One traditional hypothesis of depression is that people who are depressed have a deficiency in monoamine neurotransmitters in the body, which leads to low levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin and norephinephrine in the brain. But growing evidence supports that at least some forms of depression may also be linked to ongoing low-grade inflammation in the body.
Previous studies have linked depression with higher level of inflammatory markers compared to people who are not depressed. When people are given proinflammatory cytokines, people experience more symptoms of depression and anxiety. Chronically higher levels of inflammation due to medical illnesses are also associated with higherrates of depression. Even brain imaging of people with depression show that their brain scans have increased neuroinflammation. When your body is in an inflammatory state fighting off the common cold or flu, you can experience symptoms overlapping with depression— disrupted sleep, depressed mood, fatigue, foggy-headedness, and impaired concentration.
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I found this article particularly important to read. A few of in my senior age group can’t understand their health issues and this spells it out clearly.