From Depression To Dementia, Inflammation Is Medicine's New Frontier

[Julieanne]

Edward Bullmore
January 20 2020

The barrier between mind and body appears to be crumbling. Clinical practice and public perception need to catch up


Unlikely as it may seem, #inflammation has become a hashtag. It seems to be everywhere suddenly, up to all sorts of tricks. Rather than simply being on our side, fighting infections and healing wounds, it turns out to have a dark side as well: the role it plays in causing us harm.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...sion-mind-body

[Islander]

This is keenly interesting. I see references to inflammation in a lot of the reading and research I do for the site. The pain in my hips that I've been treating for over five years, and that was originally diagnosed as "referred" pain from my lower back, is the result of bursitis, that is, the inflammation of the bursa. I've tried treating this condition in several ways, none of which was particularly effective. In recent weeks I've tried to confine myself to an anti-inflammatory diet, but nothing seemed to change.

Weeks ago, my doctor prescribed an anti-inflammatory. I've been saying for years that I'm on no prescription drugs because other than the lifetime thyroid treatment, that was true. When I read the pages of potential side effects for the anti-inflammatory medication, Meloxicam, I ruled it out. But a few weeks ago, after being deeply discouraged by the excruciating pain for the first 15-20 minutes upon arising, I decided to take a chance on the Meloxicam. Surprisingly, it made a significant difference in my pain level; I could almost look forward to getting out of bed! Now if I could only see a change in my levels of depression...

[Mr. Wizard]

Extremely interesting study. My long-held belief that bodily inflammation can change how the brain works is confirmed. Persistent, out-of-control, inflammation has been shown repeatedly to be the cause of almost all that ails us. But, I'm also intrigued by people I know who have no physical ailments--and seemingly little or no inflammation, but who suffer from serious dementia.

[Islander]

I've belonged to a nonfiction book club for years. One result is that I read, and learn from, random books that I would never have taken off the shelf myself. However this month's choice was particularly interesting: The Disordered Mind, by Eric Kandel. Two comments for now, in reply to Mr. Wizard. One is that inflammation can work on depression and vice versa. I was kind of hoping that the anti-inflammatory prescription might eventually alleviate or take the edge off my depression, but so far I see no change. The other observation is the multitude of situations and events and stimuli that lead to various forms of dementia, some of them very early onset. Although the author goes into enough detail, with illustrations, to make this almost a mental illness 101 textbook — it's easy for a layman to digest. I highly recommend it!