A recent study from Emory University offers new hope for people with depression—especially those who struggle with low motivation, a common and difficult symptom of the condition.
The research, published in Molecular Psychiatry, found that a drug usually used to treat arthritis may also help improve motivation in people with depression who have high levels of inflammation.
The drug, called infliximab, is an anti-inflammatory medication already used for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease. Scientists have long known that inflammation can affect the body, but growing evidence suggests it can also influence how the brain works—especially in people with depression.
In this study, researchers focused on 42 patients who had depression and signs of high inflammation, based on their levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the blood. A CRP level above 3 mg/L is considered high and a marker of inflammation in the body. None of the participants were taking other depression medications during the study.
Participants were randomly given a single dose of infliximab or a placebo (a harmless substance with no active drug) and were then observed for two weeks.
The research team used a mix of brain scans, questionnaires, and effort-based tasks to see how the treatment affected motivation. One of the key tests measured how much effort people were willing to make to earn a reward, which is often reduced in depression.
The results were promising: those who received infliximab were more motivated and more willing to work for rewards than those who received the placebo. Brain scans also showed increased activity in regions linked to motivation, such as the prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum—areas of the brain that play key roles in goal-setting and reward processing.
Infliximab works by blocking a molecule called tumor necrosis factor (TNF), which is a major part of the body’s immune response and is involved in inflammation. By reducing TNF, the drug helps calm the immune system, which appears to also help restore motivation in certain brain circuits.
Dr. Michael Treadway, the lead author and a professor at Emory University, said this is the first study to show how an anti-inflammatory drug can improve motivation by directly changing activity in the brain. He emphasized that low motivation is one of the hardest symptoms to treat in depression and is often not helped by traditional antidepressants.
Dr. Andrew Miller, a co-author and professor of psychiatry, added that these findings highlight a growing need to personalize depression treatment. Not all depression is the same, and for people with high inflammation, reducing that inflammation may be a key part of recovery.
While this study was small and short-term, it opens the door to a new way of thinking about depression treatment—one that looks beyond the brain and includes the body’s immune system.
Larger studies are needed to confirm the findings, but the early results suggest that for some patients, especially those with high CRP levels, anti-inflammatory drugs like infliximab could offer a powerful new treatment option.
In the future, doctors might use a simple blood test to identify which patients would benefit most from this kind of treatment, paving the way for more effective, tailored approaches to managing depression.
If you care about depression, please read studies about how dairy foods may influence depression risk, and B vitamins could help prevent depression and anxiety.
For more information about mental health, please see recent studies that ultra-processed foods may make you feel depressed, and extra-virgin olive oil could reduce depression symptoms.
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