ReviewCurrent neuropharmacology2016
Interferon-Related Depression: A Primer on Mechanisms, Treatment, and Prevention of a Common Clinical Problem.
Review in Current neuropharmacology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 97 citations in OpenAlex.
- Burden of psychological symptoms and disorders among individuals with hepatitis B: a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic Review of the Kynurenine Pathway and Psychoneurological Symptoms Among Adult Cancer Survivors.Biological research for nursing · 2020Pooled it
- [Expert recommendations on the management of adverse reactions in pegylated interferon alpha therapy for chronic hepatitis B].Zhonghua gan zang bing za zhi = Zhonghua ganzangbing zazhi = Chinese journal of hepatology · 2026Article
- Unraveling fear of relapse in multiple sclerosis: beyond perfectionism and uncertainty.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026Article
- Comparative Effectiveness of Direct-Acting Antiviral Treatment for Hepatitis C Virus Infection on Depressive Symptoms in Patients With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.Clinical therapeutics · 2025Article
- Epigenetics and immunology: Under-recognized aspects of suicidality.World journal of psychiatry · 2025Review
- Modulation of neuroimmune cytokine networks by antidepressants: implications in mood regulation.Translational psychiatry · 2025Review
- Expression signatures with specificity for type I and II IFN response and relevance for autoimmune diseases and cancer.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Physical Activity and Depression in Breast Cancer Patients: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Review
- Distribution of microRNA Counts Across Human Chromosomes.Current medicinal chemistry · 2025Article
- Neuroinflammation and stress-induced pathophysiology in major depressive disorder: mechanisms and therapeutic implications.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2025Review
- Systemic IFN-I combined with topical TLR7/8 agonists promotes distant tumor suppression by c-Jun-dependent IL-12 expression in dendritic cells.Nature cancer · 2025Article
- Is There such a Thing as Post-Viral Depression?: Implications for Precision Medicine.Biomolecules & therapeutics · 2024Review
- Depression and anxiety in multiple sclerosis. Review of a fatal combination.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2024Review
- Biomarkers Associated with Depression Improvement in Veterans with Gulf War Illness Using the Low-Glutamate Diet.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Hepatitis B cure: Current situation and prospects.World journal of hepatology · 2024Review
- Spontaneous, persistent, T cell-dependent IFN-γ release in patients who progress to Long Covid.Science advances · 2024Article
- Molecular and immunological origins of catatonia.Schizophrenia research · 2024Article
- Neurodevelopmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders.Advances in neurobiology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDepression is among the commonest of psychiatric disorders, and inflammatory mechanisms have been suggested to play a role in its pathophysiology. Interferons are a superfamily of proinflammatory cytokines that play a role in host defence mechanisms. Interferons are used in the treatment of a variety of autoimmune (e.g. multiple sclerosis), viral (e.g. chronic hepatitis B and C), and malignant (e.g. malignant melanoma, hairy cell leukemia) disorders; depression, however, is a notable and clinically troublesome adverse effect.
objectiveThis article seeks to present a simple explanation and update for the reader about what interferons are, how interferons are classified, the clinical conditions in which interferons are used, the occurrence of depression as a clinical adverse effect of interferon therapy, possible mechanisms that explain interferon-related depression, the treatment of interferon-related depression, and the prevention of interferon-related depression.
methodsA qualitative literature review is presented. RESULTS AND
conclusionsIrrespective of the indication for IFN therapy, IFNs are associated with a 30- 70% risk of treatment-emergent depression. This risk could be due to the IFN, or to an interaction between the IFN and the indication for which it was prescribed. Various neurohormonal, neurochemical, neurohistological, and other mechanisms have been put forth to explain IFN-related depression. Prophylactic treatment with antidepressants reduces the risk of IFN-related depression; antidepressants also effectively treat the condition. Recent alternatives to IFNs have shown to decrease the risk of treatment-emergent depression.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.