How Can Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Help in Depression and PTSD Treatment?

The simplest way to use the principle of fighting inflammation to help in depression treatment and PTSD treatment is to take an Aspirin a day. This is something you should discuss with your doctor first (some important medications are incompatible with Aspirin, and with some of the newer anticoagulants used after cardiovascular stent placement, Aspirin is actually dangerous), but most people will be OK with either an 81 mg baby Aspirin or an adult 325 mg Aspirin a day. Taking more than 325 mg of Aspirin a day isn't necessary or helpful. Similar benefits would be obtained by taking low-dose statin drugs.

A study conducted by a group of scientists at the IMPACT Strategic Research Centre, School of Medicine of Deakin University in Geelong in Victoria state in Australia found that men aged 24 to 98 who took either Aspirin or a statin drug every day were up to 80 percent less likely to develop either depression or PTSD. This result is consistent with several other studies of the likelihood of depression or other mood orders in people who take anti-inflammatory drugs, but it's only fair to note that there is one, and only one, clinical trial that failed to find a benefit.

Major depression, with risk of suicide, is sometimes treated with the anti-inflammatory drug infliximab, marketed under the trade name Remicade. Ordinarily a treatment for Crohn's disease, this potentially toxic but potently anti-inflammatory medication sometimes causes a complete reversal of major depression, although its effects take several days to several weeks.

Bipolar depression is sometimes treated with fish oil. The eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) component of fish oil acts counteracts the inflammatory effects of cytokines in the brain. EPA is a fatty acid that is only found in animal products; it's not something you can get in microalgae oils, only in fish oils. Taking fish oil won't bring on a manic episode, like some pharmaceutical treatments for depression.

If you have depression and your medications just aren't working, what can you do?

• Unless your doctor has told you not to take Aspirin, take an 81 mg baby Aspirin every day. That dosage is not enough to interfere with the ability of your immune system to fight infections, but it is enough to reduce the load of inflammation in your brain. Some studies have found that Ibuprofen also reduces depression.
• Eat fish. It's more than just brain food. It fights inflammation. Cold-water deep sea fish are more beneficial for brain health than fish caught in warm waters.
• Take fish oil. A single 1000 to 1500 mg capsule a day is enough; taking more than 8 capsules a day is actually harmful. The EPA in fish oil is denatured by alcohol, so don't take fish oil within four hours of taking a drink.
• Avoid fatty fried foods. The fats used to fry foods counteract EPA.
• Low-dose statins sometimes fight medication, but increasing the dose does not increase the benefit. They are worth a try when other medications don't work.