Many studies have shown that depression and anxiety often occur in patients who also have ailments that involve immune problems, such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, arthritis, and asthma.
New research demonstrates that SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) actually impact the immune system, affect the user's immune system in ways that are not yet understood.
Researchers from from Georgetown University Medical Center and a Canadian research institute have found that serotonin is passed between key cells in the immune system, and that the chemical is specifically used to activate an immune response.
What they do not yet know yet is whether SSRIs have either a beneficial or a damaging effect on human immunity.
"The wider health implication is that commonly used SSRI antidepressants, which target the uptake of serotonin into neurons, may also impact the uptake in immune cells," said Gerard Ahern, Ph.D., assistant professor of Pharmacology at Georgetown and lead researcher on the study.
He said that while it may be possible that SSRI drugs may restore a healthy immune function in people who are depressed and prone to infections, it is possible that they might also bolster immunity to the point that they trigger autoimmune disease.
Stress and low mood have been proven to negatively impact the immune system. Prolonged exposure to cortisol is known to weaken the immune system. But whether SSRIs can restore weakened immune response, or help cause further autoimmune problems, remains to be seen.
"At this point we just don't know how these drugs might affect immunity, so we really need to clarify the normal role of serotonin in immune cell functioning," Ahern said.
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