Category Archives: Inflammation

Levering the immune system against depression

Posted on September 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4-7UZk21wk&feature=player_detailpage]

An Emory University research team led by Andrew H. Miller, professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine, recently released the results of a study proposing a novel treatment target for difficult cases of depression.  Inflammation is the body’s innate reaction to a wound, but has also been observed in patients with depression and chronic inflammation is associated with depression cases that do not respond to typical medications and treatments.  In the study, participants with chronic inflammation and depression received infliximab, a drug used to treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, or a placebo in addition to a prescribed anti-depression regimen. Infliximab was found to improve the treatment outcomes for depressed individuals with high levels of inflammation, and is a promising tool leveraging the immune system in the treatment of psychiatric conditions.
For more information about the study, please visit: http://news.emory.edu/stories/2012/09/psych_miller_inflam_dep_archgenpsych/index.html.

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Posted in Immunology, Inflammation, Psychology/Psychiatry, Research

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Microbiome changes over the course of pregnancy

Posted on August 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

The role of the microbiome in human health is of increasing interest in the scientific community.  A study led by Dr. Ruth Ley from Cornell University that analyzed fecal samples from 91 women across their gestational period identified that the maternal microbiome changes significantly over the course of pregnancy.  The women’s individual microbiomes became less diverse as pregnancy ensued, though as a group the total number of bacterial species present was greatest during the final trimester.  Additionally, the changes in gut microbiota during each stage of pregnancy were correlated with the degree of fat and inflammation exhibited by the women.

For additional commentary about the study, The Scientist provides a review of the study and interviews with the research team and other subject matter experts.  The scientific article was published in Cell.

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Posted in Inflammation, Microbiota, Pregnancy, Research

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An evolutionary view of depression

Posted on March 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EADhvebhPS8]

Researchers Andrew Miller, MD and William P. Timmie, PhD of Emory University, and Charles Raison, MD, previously at Emory University and now at the University of Arizona, are taking an evolutionary approach to studying the relationships between depression and immune system function.

Due to findings that much of the genetic variation observed in depression is related to changes in immune system function, specifically in inflammation, they propose that this would have offered an evolutionary benefit in terms of being able to fight infections.  For example, there are numerous behavioral factors related to depressions that may have been adaptive in terms of restricting or containing infection, including social avoidance and fatigue/inactivity.

To read more about their recent publication, visit the Emory News Center website.  Part two of the video above is available through the Emory University You Tube Channel.

 

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Posted in Inflammation, Mental Health

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Andrew Gewirtz, PhD Speaks on our Guts, Inflammation, and Metabolic Syndrome at the 2011 Predictive Health Symposium

Posted on January 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

The theme of the 2011 Predictive Health Symposium was “Health and the Microbiome”, featuring a number of speakers describing innovative findings that relate the health of our microbiome – all of the microbes and their associated genetic content that lives inside our guts – to our overall well-being.

Dr. Andrew Gewirtz, a Professor in the Center for Inflammation, Immunity, & Infection at Georgia State University, spoke on the relationships between our gut microbiota, chronic inflammation, and the development of metabolic syndrome.  Metabolic syndrome describes a host of factors, including insulin resistance and central obesity, that simultaneously contribute to stroke, coronary artery disease, and type 2 diabetes risk.  A video of his talk can be downloaded directly, or from the Symposium’s webpage (along with all of the other talks).  The content requires Real Player to view, which can be downloaded free from the Real Player website.

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Posted in Inflammation, Metabolic syndrome, Microbiota

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