Abstract
Studies suggest that inflammation is involved in the pathophysiology of depression. The present study examined the effects of the commonly used antidepressant escitalopram, in comparison with a novel herbal treatment (NHT) consisted of Crataegus pinnatifida, Triticum aestivum, Lilium brownii and Fructus Ziziphus jujuba, on cytokine and behavioral responses to an immune challenge. Escitalopram augmented lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α peripheral secretion and induced a faster kinetics of interleukin-1β secretion, while marginally reducing sickness behavior. NHT, on the other hand, completely abolished lipopolysaccharide-induced interleukin-1β and TNFα peripheral secretion and diminished sickness behavior. These findings may have implications for the treatment of depressive symptoms associated with immune activation.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 111-118 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Neuroimmunology |
Volume | 309 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 15 Aug 2017 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF 738/11), by the National Institute for Psychobiology in Israel (NIPI-7-2011-12), and by the Open University of Israel Foundation (101186).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier B.V.
Keywords
- Antidepressant
- Endotoxin
- Proinflammatory cytokine
- SSRI
- Sickness behavior