The phenomenology and treatment of interferon-induced depression

Serotonin a la carte: Supplementation with the serotonin precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan

“…2). In particular, exogenous administration of IFN-a has been shown to cause depression in some patients (Musselman et al, 2001;Hauser et al, 2002;Loftis & Hauser, 2004). This IFN-induced depression has been attributed to the activation of the cytokine network (i.e., IFN-g) and IDO, resulting in perturbations of the serotonergic system (Menkes & MacDonald, 2000;Bonaccorso et al, 2002;Capuron et al, 2003;Turner & Blackwell, 2005).…”

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Depression and Anxiety in Hepatitis C Patients Receiving Pegylated Interferon Alpha (IFN-a)

“…Increase symptoms of depression during IFN therapy has been explained by depletion of serotonin, decreases in tryptophan, and increases in tryptophan catabolism (18).…”

The Importance of a Prior Psychiatric Examination in Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin Combination Treatment for Chronic Hepatitis C

“…As interferon treatment has also been proven to reduce the risk of HCC [9][10][11], interferon treatment has been actively administered for chronic hepatitis C. However, interferon treatment has various adverse events that may prevent completion of the full treatment regimen. These include psychiatric adverse events, especially depression, which often leads to a discontinuation of interferon treatment [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] pegylated interferon-α-2b and ribavirin combination treatment has been reported to range from 29 to 36% [5][6][7]. To treat depression, antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), and sulpiride have been shown to be effective [19][20][21].…”