A new review published in JAMA Psychiatry explores how inflammation in the body may contribute to mental health conditions such as psychosis, depression and autism, and what this could mean for future clinical trials.
The review paper, Current Position and Future Direction of Inflammation in Neuropsychiatric Disorders, brings together the latest evidence from patient data, clinical trials and preclinical models to assess how immune system activity may influence brain health and behaviour, with collaboration across several UK institutions, including the University of Oxford, University of Birmingham and King’s College London.
The review highlights that inflammation, the body’s response to injury or infection, may be overactive or misdirected in some people with mental ill health. This could affect brain function and contribute to symptoms. Specific immune pathways that affect inflammation are suggested in the review as promising areas for further research.
While anti-inflammatory treatments are not yet widely used in psychiatry, the review notes that targeted clinical trials are underway but highlights that a more unified, cross-disciplinary approach to validate these emerging treatments are needed to bring them closer to clinical use.
The review was led by University of Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry Professor Rachel Upthegrove, Director of Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (OH BRC) who commented on the significance of the findings:
“This review marks a turning point in how we understand the biology of mental illness. Inflammation is not the whole story, but for some people, it may be a key piece of the puzzle. By identifying who is most likely to benefit from specific immune-targeted treatments, we can move towards more personalised and effective care.”
The review was completed by researchers in our OH BRC Molecular Targets Theme, which aims to identify and test new therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders, utilising genomics and other fundamental discovery neuroscience.
For enquiries about the work of OH BRC email: ohbrcenquiries@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk.
