Chagas disease as a mechanistic model for testing a novel hypothesis.
The association between depression and cardiovascular disease is well documented. Nevertheless, the process through which they are linked remains unknown, as does the direction of this relationship. Studies have suggested both that depression is a risk factor for heart disease and that heart disease is a risk factor for depression. A number of studies have established that a relationship exists between depression and inflammation, with alterations in the levels of inflammatory markers (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-alpha and others). Depressive symptoms have also been identified in many diseases characterized by inflammatory processes e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, bronchial asthma, diabetes, tuberculosis and cardiovascular diseases. In this brief viewpoint, we explain and propose how to use Chagas disease, a disorder characterized by inflammatory processes and leading to cardiovascular and autonomic problems, as a model for studying the directionality of the relationship between heart disease and depression.
Mosovich
Serge A
SA
Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City, NY, USA.
Mady
Charles
C
Lopes
Neuza
N
Ianni
Barbara
B
Dias
João Carlos Pinto
JC
Correia
Dalmo
D
Farkouh
Michael E
ME
D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D008954:Models, Biological; D012307:Risk Factors
D015415:Biomarkers