In the UK, about 1 in 13 people suffer from depression or anxiety disorder. Current treatment for depression includes mood-enhancing drugs but anti-inflammatory drugs may be a better treatment for this mental disorder.
According to health experts, an overactive immune system increases the risk of inflammation, which triggers feelings of unhappiness and hopelessness. By using anti-inflammatory drugs instead of anti-depressants, low mood is prevented. Clinical tests show that treating inflammation alleviates depression.
Depression could be treated using anti-inflammatory drugs, scientists now believe, after determining that it is a physical illness caused by a faulty immune system.
Around one in 13 people in Britain suffers from anxiety or depression and last year the NHS issued 64.7 million prescriptions for antidepressants, double the amount given out a decade ago.
Current treatment is largely centered around restoring mood-boosting chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, but experts now think an overactive immune system triggers inflammation throughout the entire body, sparking feelings of hopelessness, unhappiness and fatigue.
Image courtesy of: mackeer
