A Drug That Increases Dopamine Can Reverse the Effects of Inflammation on the Brain in Depression - Neuroscience News

Summary: Levodopa, a drug commonly prescribed for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease that increases dopamine in the brain was found to reverse the effects of neuroinflammation on the reward system and improve symptoms associated with depression.

Past research conducted by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine has linked the effects of inflammation on the brain to decreased release of dopamine, a chemical neurotransmitter that regulates motivation and motor activity, in the ventral striatum.

The study included 40 depressed patients with a range of CRP levels from high to low who underwent functional brain scans on two visits after receiving in random order either placebo or levodopa, a drug often prescribed for disorders like Parkinson’s disease.

The primary outcome of resting-state (rs)FC in a classic ventral striatum to ventromedial prefrontal cortex reward circuit was calculated using a targeted, a priori approach.

Data available both pre- and post-challenge ( n= 31/40) established stability of rsFC across visits and determined CRP > 2 mg/L as a cut-point for patients exhibiting positive FC responses (post minus pre) to L-DOPA versus placebo ( p< 0.01).

FC in reward circuitry should be further validated in larger samples as a biomarker of target engagement for potential treatments including dopaminergic agents in MDD patients with increased inflammation.