Painkillers may ‘switch off ’ depression

DEPRESSION could be treated using anti-inflammatory drugs, scientists believe, after finding it is a physical illness caused by a faulty immune system.

Around one in 13 people in Britain suffers anxiety or depression and last year the NHS issued 65 million prescriptions for antidepressants, double the amount prescribed a decade ago. Treatment is largely centred on restoring mood-boosting chemicals, such as serotonin, but experts now think an overactive immune system triggers inflammation through the body, creating feelings of hopelessness, unhappiness and fatigue.

It is similar to the low mood people have when fighting a virus, such as flu.

Results from clinical trials showed that treating inflammation seems to alleviate depression. When doctors give drugs to boost the immune system it is also often accompanied by depression.

Scientists at Cambridge University and the Wellcome Trust hope to begin trials in 2018 to test if anti-inflammatory drugs – usually prescribed as painkillers – could switch off depression. Prof Ed Bullmore of Cambridge University, said: “There is evidence to suggest it should work.”