Brain chemistry hints at how obesity impairs antidepressants
By 
Andy Extance2018-05-03T12:04:00
Histamine released in response to obesity or bacterial toxins prevents benefits from SSRIs – and that drugs that target these inflammatory signals may restore them
US chemists may have discovered that brain inflammation is part of the reason why antidepressant drugs like Prozac only work for around three people in 10. Parastoo Hashemi’s University of South Carolina team knew that inflammation is linked to depression, but not how. They therefore tracked levels of the chemicals serotonin, which influences mood, and histamine, which signals inflammation, in the brains of mice.