"In the future a new class of antiinflammatory drugs could be used to treat depression say University of Cambridge researchers. Drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen treat inflammation the bodys immune response to infections or pathogens. During an inflammatory response immune cells flood the bloodstream with proteins known as cytokines. Drugs to counteract these cytokines are the newest generation of antiinflammatories. Some are so new clinical trials are still testing their efficacy and safety for human use.  These trials form the basis of the Cambridge research that was published Tuesday in the journal Molecular Psychiatry https  Based on previous findings about depression the team looked at the side effects experienced by patients given anticytokine drugs in  separate studies. All the participants had chronic autoimmune inflammatory diseases which occur when healthy cells are mistaken for infected cells causing the immune system to attack the body and leading to inflammation. Anticytokine drugs dampen down inflammation by blocking the actions of specific inflammatory cytokines ... with surgical precision and are now routinely used for treating patients who respond inadequately to standard treatments for inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis psoriasis and Crohns disease both in the US and Europe explained Dr. Golam Khandaker a clinical lecturer in Cambridges department of psychiatry and lead author of the new study. Using data from the  studies Khandaker and his colleagues found that anticytokine drugs improved symptoms of depression regardless of whether they lessened the symptoms of physical illness.  Two implications  The findings suggest that inflammation may contribute to the pathogenesis of depression Khandaker said. The findings also suggest that antiinflammatory drugs may be helpful in treating patients with depression who are chronically inflamed. The immune system acts like a thermostat turned down low most of the time but cranked up when we have an infection according to Khandaker. In some people the thermostat is always set slightly higher behaving as if they have a persistent lowlevel infection.  In previous research httpjamanetwork.comjournalsjamapsychiatryarticleabstract Khandaker found that children with high everyday levels of inflammatory markers  a higher thermostat  are at greater risk of developing depression and psychosis in adulthood. Also research https conducted in the Netherlands suggests that antiinflammatory drugs used in conjunction with antipsychotic drugs may be more effective than antipsychotics alone. For the current report Khandaker and his colleagues looked at studies of drugs blocking specific cytokines.  Khandaker said that five of the  studies focused on one specific cytokine. All five showed the same result that blocking the action of this cytokine to reduce inflammation lessened symptoms of depression. Two clinical trials examined by Khandaker focused on another drug blocking the action of a different cytokine and both studies showed it improved symptoms of depression.  Looking to the future Metaanalyses such Khandakers can be valuable said Dr. Charles Raison httpssohe.wisc.edustaffcharleslraisonmd a psychiatrist and professor at the University of WisconsinMadison.  Evidence at this point suggests that cytokine antagonists  which are much more specific in their antiinflammatory effects than drugs like aspirin  show modest antidepressant effects in individuals with depression and increased inflammation said Raison who did not participate in in Khandakers research.  Though its still too early to prescribe these drugs to depressed patients Khandaker believes that antiinflammatory drugs may offer hope to people who find current antidepressants ineffective.  We need more studies he said particularly research involving patients with depression who are inflamed but healthy to investigate the effect of these drugs on depression. Their potential side effects also must be investigated Khandaker said adding that we and other research groups from both sides of the Atlantic are currently planning and conducting such randomized control trials."