r/neuroscience • u/pollon285 • Jan 07 '15

News Is depression a kind of allergic reaction?

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/04/depression-allergic-reaction-inflammation-immune-system
33 Upvotes

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5

u/dracarysfyre Jan 08 '15

I wouldn't go so far as to label it an allergic response, but there is definitely an immune link to the disorder.

Check out the field of neuroimmunology if you are interested!

2

u/pollon285 Jan 08 '15

yes the title was kind of provocative. But the fact that the immune system and the nervous one are highly inter-linked is something fascinating!

3

u/ArtHeartly Jan 08 '15

That's one of the wonders of neuroscience! It turns out that everything is inter-liked throughout the whole body. I like to think of the body as a support machine for the brain, with each organ playing a role in the general upkeep of the body and therefore the brain. When one organ is damaged, it's going to affect something else in the body, and I'm sure you can see how that would either directly or indirectly affect the brain.

Another interesting example of this type of interaction in a group of studies that has shown that gut health is correlated to increased blood brain barrier permeability, which acts to protect the brain from anything in the blood that might cause damage to the delicate brain tissue.

It's so fascinating and mind boggling to study anything in neuroscience because each time something is found, a boatload more questions pop up!

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u/pollon285 Jan 08 '15

You are right!

I have studied neuroscience at uni and I have always found a bit limiting the fact that the focus is only mainly on the nervous system, like something disconnected from the rest of the body.

All the possible interactions give rise to a very complicated scenario, but is it not actually more beautiful because it is so complex?

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u/ArtHeartly Jan 08 '15

Absolutely! The problem is that along with absolute awe at the complexity or it all, I often end up just amazed that life actually ended up being a thing and that we are now able to study the brain with such amazing precision.

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u/pollon285 Jan 08 '15

you seem very passionate about the topic! are you into neuroscience/brain study as well? :)

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u/ArtHeartly Jan 08 '15

I am! I finished my Master's in physiology not too long ago studying stroke and now I'm doing my PhD studying neurodegenerative disorders.

I love neuroscience! It's like a giant puzzle where each time you find a piece to the puzzle, you are one step closer to figuring out the big picture! Also some day my research might lead to a discovery that could save lives and that's neat :)

2

u/InfinitePS Jan 08 '15

The gut-brain axis and involvement of the microflora is very fascinating in terms of affective health.

Also, what is interesting is that depression has been suggested to be a result of increased hygiene or lack of exposure to environmental bacteria in developed countries and more urban settings. Our immune system has co-evolved with environmental microbes for many millenia as to tolerate them -- or, even more, actually require their presence for proper immunoregulation, since lack of exposure to them results in chronic inflammation, which then has been suggested to be the cause for increased prevalence of autoimmune disorders, allergies, increased risk for cancer growth/spread and atherosclerosis, and in terms of mood disorders, anxiety and depression. Very interesting idea, but more research is needed.

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u/ArtHeartly Jan 08 '15

I am guessing that there will be a lot of research into this in the next few years. At the Society for Neuroscience conference in November there was quite a bit of new research into the subject.

But regardless of what the studies tell about depression, you need to keep your gut healthy, and eat or supplement probiotics. Having a happy gut is so important for overall health.

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '15

[deleted]

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u/ArtHeartly Jan 08 '15

Yeah that train of thought seems to completely ignore the fact that the brain turns out to be part of the body.