U.S. Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress 2015

Little is of more current interest to practicing mental health professionals than the question of whether anti-inflammatory agents may hold promise for the treatment of major depression. This interest is based on a multitude of studies showing that inflammation can cause depression and that patients with depression—as a group—have elevated levels of inflammatory biomarkers. Interest has been further stoked by the recent publication of a high-profile meta-analysis that on casual reading suggests that anti-inflammatory agents do have antidepressant properties. In this session, Dr. Raison will review best available data and address the surprising possibility that anti-inflammatory agents can both improve and worsen depressive symptoms. Dr. Raison will provide a much needed cautionary “brake” on the field’s mad rush to utilize anti-inflammatory strategies in depression and demonstrate how inflammatory considerations highlight the fact that major depression is not homogeneous enough to ever be responsive to any type of one-size-fits-all “magic bullet” treatment approach.