Carey Sipp 2/28/231:00 PM

By Richard Sima, Illustration: George Wylesol/The Washington Post, The Washington Post, February 23, 2023

One in five Americans will experience major depressive disorder in their lifetime, and many will not find relief from current therapies. But now researchers have identified an unexpected source of the problem: inflammation.

Inflammation in the bodymay be triggering or exacerbating depression in the brains ofsome patients. And clinical trial data suggests that targeting and treating the inflammation may be a way to provide more-precise care.

The findings have the potential to revolutionize medical care for depression, an often intractable illness that doesn’t always respond to conventional drug treatments.While current drug treatments target certain neurotransmitters, the new research suggests that in some patients, depressive behaviors may be fueled by the inflammatory process.

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Carey Smith Sipp

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