Immune Dysfunction Kills in Covid but can it cause Depression?

by Shana Saffer | Jul 18, 2020 | brain disease, Depression, immune system, inflammation, Psychiatry, Uncategorized

We are learning more and more about Covid -19  – specifically about what kills.

The term “ Cytokine Storm “ is used to describe a massive build up of the body’s own immune system, with an outpouring of “ fighter – molecules”. These ‘soldiers’ are meant  to decimate the “intruder” – coronavirus.  In people who become alarmingly ill  it seems that this intense immune response actually  attacks the hosts own tissues and causes the brunt of the damage . 

A cell which divides in a manner that’s out of control becomes a tumor…………….. An out of control immune system kills the host – it’s like soldiers going to war against their own country . 

In Susannah Calahan’s book, entitled “Brain on fire – My month of Madness” , the author  – a New York journalist, describes how  she experienced symptoms of psychosis , and seizures… but that she was told that doctors could find nothing wrong . The tests she underwent were negative. Until a smart doctor found the cause  – Autoimmune Encephalitis  (anti NMDA receptor encephalitis). Dr Souhel Najjar is a neurologist  who identified the mechanism of interaction between the immune system and the central nervous system. This rare brain disease manifests with a strange combination of neurological and psychiatric symptoms  – due to an immune system that’s making warheads and targeting a part of the brain. The story of the journalist and the neurologist was made into a drama movie.

Recent research has focused on the possible role of inflammation as a cause of brain disorders, including depression. A person with diagnosed depression complains of low energy and cannot concentrate. They commonly stay in bed, and lose interest in the outside world. They therefore appear ‘sick’.

 There is certainly mounting evidence in the literature of a biological association for at least a certain spectrum of people diagnosed with depression as in fact tests for  inflammatory markers are raised in some depressed populations. But what causes the inflammation that becomes overdone, and thus self-defeating?

Stress

One idea is that as we live with greater amounts of stress, our body mounts an immune reaction to deal with stress itself. This response leads to an inflammatory build up in the brain – which can then manifest clinically with signs of depression.

Other conditions understood to be caused at least in part, by an out-of – control immune response , with raised neuroinflammatory markers are brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as certain brain tumours . Auto-immune diseases such as Lupus and Rheumatoid arthritis and some types of thyroid disease also fall into this category . 

While medical management of inflammation may involve use of immune suppresssants including corticosteroids and dexamethasone , and various antidepressant medications are available to treat serious depression, the one main factor we can try to address is the level of stress we perceive in our daily lives. We cannot avoid or escape stress, but we can minimise the impact it has on our bodies and on our Minds.

Future posts will detail tools for Stress reduction , but in brief , we should limit exposure to disturbing and anxiety- provoking media, maintain healthy eating and sleeping patterns, exercise, foster core relationships , and make time to have fun and relax .

Or we can do as Michael Singer, author of The Untethered Soul, suggests…..” It is not life’s events that are causing problems or stress. It is your resistance to life’s events that is causing this experience. Since the problem is caused by using your will to resist the reality of life passing through you, the solution is obvious – stop resisting.”