Immunotherapy could be used to treat depression, early trial suggests

About one in three people with depression do not improve with conventional treatments targeting brain chemicals. Roughly one in six adults in the UK experience moderate to severe depressive symptoms during their lifetime. An early randomized trial tested tocilizumab, an anti-inflammatory drug that blocks the IL-6R receptor, in 30 participants with moderate to severe depression who had not responded to standard antidepressants. Participants received either tocilizumab or placebo over four weeks. Statistical evidence for a significant difference was limited due to the small sample size, but those given tocilizumab showed greater improvements over time in overall depression severity, fatigue, state anxiety, and quality of life compared with placebo.

"Researchers at the University of Bristol investigated whether tocilizumab, an anti-inflammatory drug commonly used for immune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, could improve symptoms of difficult-to-treat depression. About one in three people with depression do not get better while taking the main forms of medical treatments available, which are based on targeting chemicals in the brain. Approximately one in six adults across the UK will experience moderate to severe depressive symptoms within their lifetime."

"Tocilizumab works by blocking the IL-6R receptor. This prevents the receptor from binding to cells, thus preventing the inflammatory signals that are linked to autoimmune conditions. The trial involved group of 30 people with moderate to severe depression who had not responded well to standard antidepressants. The participants were randomly assigned either tocilizumab or a placebo over a four-week period."

"Although the results showed little statistical evidence for significant difference between the two groups, as expected for a small study, participants who received tocilizumab seemed to experience greater improvements over time across several measures compared with those given a placebo, including overall depression severity, fatigue, state anxiety and quality of life."

"This is one of the first randomised controlled trials to test immunotherapy for depression, the first to test IL-6R as the treatment target, and the first to use a targeted approach to select patients most likely to benefit, and to show that it works, added Khandakar"

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