Ole Köhler-Forsberg
Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Can Improve the Treatment of Depression
Doctor Ole Köhler-Forsberg has shown that the immune system can be so closely linked to mental disorders that anti-inflammatory drugs can help treat depression.
By Filip Graugaard Esmarch
When Ole Köhler-Forsberg as a medical student first heard of psychoneuroimmunology, it immediately attracted his attention. The field, which was still in its infancy at the time, combined several interests of his: the psyche, the brain and the immune system. Here, you examine the interaction between systems, each of which is extremely complex.
‘For a very long time, the brain and the immune system were believed to be two separate systems. And that is even though history has seen lots of observations that immune system diseases can easily affect the psyche. It was believed, though, that the blood-brain barrier, which separates the brain tissue from the blood, protected the brain and that the brain therefore did not have an immune system’, Ole Köhler-Forsberg explains.
In his PhD, Ole Köhler-Forsberg has contributed to new knowledge in the field, partly through meta-analysis, which compiles the results of an amount of international research, partly through extensive Danish index studies. Both support the overall conclusion of his thesis, namely that various anti-inflammatory drugs may also have an antidepressant effect.
It Does Help
‘In our meta-analysis we looked at what the clinical studies in the area tell us about different drugs and patient groups. Based on these studies of a total of about 10,000 people, it is clear that anti-inflammatory treatment actually does have an effect on depression’, says Ole Köhler-Forsberg. An important finding in this context is that almost all the many types of drugs used in the tests appear to have the desired effect.
‘A lot of the studies look at drugs for treating rheumatoid arthritis, because depression is seen more frequently among people suffering from pain conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. However, drugs for treating rheumatoid arthritis may cause severe adverse effects and be dangerous to heart patients, which is another group of patients often suffering from depression. Fortunately, cholesterol-lowering drugs, among others, have also proven to have an effect on these patients,’ says Ole Köhler-Forsberg.
Studied the Danes
He has substantiated these findings through extensive studies of Danes via the Danish Health Authority's registries which provide unique opportunities for investigating combinations of drugs across an entire population. And other researchers build on his findings: Several current clinical studies are based on findings from the large index study, and Ole Köhler-Forsberg eventually hopes to be able to help a lot of the patients suffering from depression who do not benefit significantly from antidepressant drugs.
‘Perhaps the psychiatric sector should begin to take blood samples to measure the degree of infection found in patients suffering from depression. But a lot more research is needed to determine how the treatment is adjusted to the individual patient’, he concludes.
He currently works as a clinical doctor, but also holds a position as external lecturer and seeks to determine which subgroups of patients suffering from depression may benefit from anti-inflammatory drugs.