ReviewJournal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)2017
Anti-inflammatory treatment for major depressive disorder: implications for patients with an elevated immune profile and non-responders to standard antidepressant therapy.
Review in Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 114 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
114 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 272 citations in OpenAlex.
- TNF-α levels in first-episode, drug-naïve patients with major depressive disorder: a case-control study and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Peripheral Blood Inflammatory Cytokine Factors Expressions are Associated with Response to Acupuncture Therapy in Postpartum Depression Patients.Journal of inflammation research · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Compound Ciwujia Granules Attenuate Stress-Induced Anxiety- and Depression-Like Behaviors via Inhibition of TNF-α-Associated Neuroinflammation in the dmPFC.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Article
- Chronic stress and myeloid immunosuppression in cancer: A neuroimmune link to behavioral dysfunction.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Review
- TNF-dependent regulation of synaptic plasticity and neuronal activity: implications for psychiatric disorders.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Review
- [Inflammatory depression: a review of advances in pathophysiology, clinical implications, and treatment].Revista medica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social · 2026Review
- The Prevalence of Mental Health Conditions in Adults and Children With Childhood-Onset Inflammatory Ocular Disease: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Impact of Inflammation on White Matter Integrity and Functional Connectivity in Chronic Major Depressive Disorder.Biological psychiatry · 2026Article
- Association of Systemic Inflammation Response Index With All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality Among Individuals With Depression: NHANES 2005-2018.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Inflammatory Biomarkers in Acute Suicidal Behaviors.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Inflammatory ratios as predictors of length of hospitalization in psychiatric patients: A multicenter study.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Acupuncture as a modulator of microglial polarization and pyroptosis in depression: evidence from a chronic unpredictable mild stress rat model.Metabolic brain disease · 2026Article
- Interactive dynamic modulation of antidepressant treatment response by serum interleukin-1β and Neuroticism at 12 weeks.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Investigating the Antidepressant Mechanism of Acupuncture with a Focus on Mitochondrial Homeostasis.International journal of general medicine · 2026Review
- Persistent priming of hypothalamic microglia is associated with sensitization of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to acute stress, hyperactivity and behavioral response disruption in male rats.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Neurochemical Insights into the Role of Tryptophan Metabolites and Kynurenine Pathway in Insomnia and its Psychological and Neurological Comorbidities.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- Cang-Ai Volatile Oil Mitigates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Depressive-Like Behaviour in Mice by Modulating the Microglial BDNF/CREB Signaling Pathway.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Interleukin-6 moderates the relationship between social support, strain, and future depressive symptoms.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- Central-peripheral neuroimmune dynamics in psychological stress and depression: insights from current research.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Review
54 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent and disabling psychiatric disease with rates of non-responsiveness to antidepressants ranging from 30-50%. Historically, the monoamine depletion hypothesis has dominated the view on the pathophysiology of depression. However, the lack of responsiveness to antidepressants and treatment resistance suggests that additional mechanisms might play a role. Evidence has shown that a subgroup of depressive patients may have an underlying immune deregulation that could explain the lack of therapeutic benefit from antidepressants. Stimuli like inflammation and infection can trigger the activation of microglia to release pro-inflammatory cytokines, acting on two main pathways: (1) activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis, generating an imbalance in the serotonergic and noradrenergic circuits; (2) increased activity of the enzyme indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase, resulting in depletion of serotonin levels and the production of quinolinic acid. If this hypothesis is proven true, the subgroup of MDD patients with increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, mainly IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β, might benefit from an anti-inflammatory intervention. Here, we discuss the pre-clinical and clinical studies that have provided support for treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in depressed patients with inflammatory comorbidities or an elevated immune profile, as well as evidences for anti-inflammatory properties of standard antidepressants.
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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.