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Antidepressant treatment of cytokine-induced mood disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2014

Charles L Raison ,
Michael Marcin  and
Andrew H Miller
Charles L Raison
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Michael Marcin
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Andrew H Miller*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
*
Andrew H. Miller, M.D., Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 1639 Pierce Dr, Suite 4000, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. Tel: + 404-727-8260; Fax: + 404-727-3233; E-mail: amill02@emory.edu
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Abstract

Significant evidence suggests that the immune system is capable of profoundly affecting central nervous system (CNS) functioning in ways that may contribute to the development and expression of neuropsychiatric disorders, including disorders of mood. This paper reviews evidence that the production of proinflammatory cytokines, whether in the context of therapeutic administration (e.g. interferon-α-2b for hepatitis C infection) or medical illness, induces a state of sickness behavior that closely resembles major depression. Antidepressants have been shown to abolish or attenuate cytokine-induced sickness behavior in laboratory animals and to protect against the development of major depression in the context of therapeutic cytokine administration in humans. Potential mechanisms by which antidepressants ameliorate depressive and/or sickness symptoms in the context of immune activation include direct effects on immune cell functioning, as well as modulatory effects on monoamine neurotransmitters, intracellular second messenger pathways and the neuroendocrine system, in particular the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis.

Keywords

antidepressantmood disorderscytokinesimmune
Type
Review Article
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 14 , Issue 6 , December 2002 , pp. 336 - 343
Copyright
Copyright © Acta Neuropsychiatrica 2002

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