Psychiatric Disorders and Inflammation

The positive findings obtained in many studies on the association between inflammation and symptoms in patients with psychiatric disorders have aroused neurobiologists' interest in the expression and action of inflammatory mediators in the brain. Much evidence exists to suggest an association between inflammation and psychiatric disorders that is independent of diagnostic category. The high prevalence of major depressive disorders in physically ill patients with chronic inflammatory processes can be explained by the described mechanisms, that is, activation of immune to brain communication pathways. Stress is a well-recognized causal factor in psychiatry, especially in the case of major depressive disorders and post-traumatic stress disorders. Multiple pathways lead from stress to inflammation. The most obvious one is represented by the effect of stress mediators on innate immune cells. Increased cortisol levels are well known to be anti-inflammatory rather than proinflammatory.