12/06/2025
The more we learn about depression, the clearer it becomes that it's not a one-size-fits-all condition. This paper highlights a fascinating and crucial piece of the puzzle: chronic inflammation may be a key driver of depression in a distinct subgroup of patients.
We’ve known that inflammation affects the body, but it turns out it also rewires the brain — influencing neurotransmitters, motivation, and energy levels. Symptoms like fatigue, problem with attention, and psychomotor slowing are more common in those with elevated inflammatory markers.
What’s especially exciting? Blocking inflammatory pathways has been shown to reduce depressive symptoms in both physically ill and healthy individuals. That opens the door to immune-targeted treatments — and moves us toward precision psychiatry.
This research is a big step in shifting mental health care from symptom-based guesses to mechanism-based interventions. Imagine a future where we can identify the biological root of someone’s depression and treat it accordingly — that’s the promise of precision medicine in psychiatry.
Chronic inflammation plays a prominent role in multiple medical disorders, including psychiatric diseases such as major depression. Exposure to inflammatory stimuli leads to changes in neurotransmitter systems and neurocircuits in the brain that are associated with depressive symptoms. Blockade of i...
