Unveiling the Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Antidepressants: A Systematic Review of Human Studies over the Last Decade.
Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) June 10, 2025 Layla Bleibel, Paulina Sokołowska, Gabriela Henrykowska et al. 18 citations
Antidepressants like SSRIs, SNRIs, esketamine, and ketamine reduce inflammation in people with depression by lowering pro-inflammatory cytokines or boosting anti-inflammatory cytokines in the blood and brain regions such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. These effects occur through multiple pathways, including NF-κB, the NLRP3 inflammasome, the glutamatergic system, the gut-brain axis, the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, impaired neuroplasticity, and the kynurenine pathway. The findings suggest that anti-inflammatory actions contribute to the therapeutic benefits of these treatments, supporting the link between depression and inflammation.