{"id":437154,"date":"2026-05-20T19:25:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T19:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/437154\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T19:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T19:25:11","slug":"experts-uncover-anti-inflammatory-drug-that-could-help-millions-of-brits-who-suffer-from-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/437154\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts uncover anti-inflammatory drug that could help millions of Brits who suffer from depression"},"content":{"rendered":"

An existing drug primarily used to treat rheumatoid arthritis<\/a> could offer a significant new treatment avenue for individuals battling difficult-to-treat depression<\/a>, a recent study suggests.<\/p>\n

Researchers have for the first time explored whether tocilizumab, an anti-inflammatory medication, could alleviate symptoms<\/a> in patients unresponsive to standard antidepressant therapies.<\/p>\n

Current drug treatments for depression predominantly target brain<\/a> chemicals<\/a> such as serotonin<\/a>, norepinephrine, and dopamine, yet approximately one in three individuals find no relief from these conventional approaches.<\/p>\n

The investigation, involving 30 participants with moderate-to-severe depression, yielded early evidence that tocilizumab may reduce depressive symptoms, combat fatigue and anxiety, and improve overall quality of life.<\/p>\n

This research builds on findings that roughly a third of people with depression exhibit signs of inflammation in their blood, suggesting their condition could be linked to an overactive immune system.<\/p>\n

This offers a promising alternative pathway for those for whom existing treatments are ineffective.<\/p>\n

Other studies point to higher levels of inflammatory proteins called cytokines in depression, including interleukin 6 (IL-6).<\/p>\n

\"Recent<\/p>\n

Recent research shows that about a third of people with depression have signs of inflammation in their blood (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Researchers at the University of Bristol wanted to see whether symptoms could improve in people with inflammation-related depression by blocking the IL-6 pathway.<\/p>\n

The trial split the participants into two with half given tocilizumab and the rest a placebo.<\/p>\n

The findings suggest the participants who received tocilizumab seemed to experience greater improvements over time compared to those given a placebo.<\/p>\n

Senior author Professor Golam Khandakar, from the University of Bristol, said: \u201cThis work represents an important milestone in the development of new treatments for depression, especially difficult-to-treat depression, which affects millions of people in the UK alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the first randomised controlled trials to test immunotherapy for depression, the first to test IL-6R as the treatment target, and the first to use a targeted approach to select patients most likely to benefit, and to show that it works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lead author Dr Eimear Foley added: \u201cDepression is estimated to affect around 10% to 20% of people worldwide during their lifetime, yet for many patients current treatments do not work well enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur study moves us closer to more tailored depression care, where treatments are chosen to better fit a person\u2019s biology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will help us to provide the right treatment to the right patients at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next step will be to conduct a large-scale phase III randomised control trial that will provide definitive evidence to enable doctors to prescribe immunotherapy for depression.<\/p>\n

\u2013 The study, Interleukin 6 as a treatment target for depression: a proof-of-concept randomised clinical trial\u2019, is published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An existing drug primarily used to treat rheumatoid arthritis could offer a significant new treatment avenue for individuals…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":437155,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3419,22021,134,111,139,69,31379,223598,223599],"class_list":["post-437154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-depression","tag-depressive-symptoms","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-rheumatoid-arthritis","tag-signs-of-inflammation","tag-tocilizumab"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}