Abstract
Background: Not only is depression associated with increased inflammation but inflammation is a risk factor for the genesis of depression. Many of the environmental risk factors for depression are transduced through inflammatory signaling. Anti-inflammatory agents show promise for the management of depression in preclinical, epidemiological, and early clinical studies. This opens the door to the potential for anti-inflammatory agents to treat and prevent depression. There are no evidence-based pharmacotherapies for depression prevention. Method: ASPREE-D, aspirin in the prevention of depression in the elderly, is a sub study of ASPREE, which explores the potential of aspirin to prevent a range of inflammation related disorders in the elderly. With a sample size of 19,114, and a duration of 5 years, this placebo controlled study will be one of the largest randomized controlled trials in psychiatry and will provide definitive evidence on the ability of aspirin to prevent depression. Results: This paper presents the rationale for the study and presents a summary of the study design. Conclusions: ASPREE-D may not only define novel therapy but will provide mechanistic proof of concept of the role of inflammation in depression.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1741-1748 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | International Psychogeriatrics |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 1 2016 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© Copyright International Psychogeriatric Association 2016.
Keywords
- antidepressants
- aspirin
- biomarkers
- depression
- immunology
- inflammation
- prevention
- risk