Anti-inflammatory Celecoxib Improved Depression When Added to Escitalopram
Research has previously shown a link between stress, inflammation, and mood diorders. Anti-inflammatory treatments are now being explored for depression. In an abstract presented at the 2013 meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry, Nadia Alvi et al. reported that the commonly used anti-inflammatory COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib (Celebrex) showed better antidepressant effects than placebo when added to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant escitalopram (Lexapro) in an 8-week study.
While this research has not yet been peer-reviewed, it can be found in the 2013 convention supplement (9S) to the journal Biological Psychiatry as abstract #661.
Editor’s Note: These data are consistent with an emerging literature that shows there are increases in signs of inflammation in both unipolar and bipolar depression. It remains to be determined whether those patients whose blood shows markers of inflammation (such as increases in C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukins 1 and 6, and TNF-alpha) are more likely to respond to anti-inflammatory treatment than patients in general.