Scientists at Rockefeller University in the US have conducted a study and confirmed that anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, aspirin and naproxen reduce the ability of antidepressant medications.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, one class of compound used as antidepressants, are often given for depression as well as obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders.
Researchers at Rockefeller’s Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research found that in the absence of anti-inflammatory drugs, 54% of patients responded to the antidepressant, whereas only 40% of patients responded in the presence of anti-inflammatory agents.
Rockefeller Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research director Greengard said elderly individuals with depression and arthritic or related diseases take both antidepressant and anti-inflammatory medications, and physicians should carefully balance the advantages and disadvantages of continuing anti-inflammatory therapy in patients treated with antidepressant medications.
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The study was funded by National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health and Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research Foundation.
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