Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026
Robotically Delivered fMRI-Guided Personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression
Published on: April 10, 2026
Raised plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha in patients with depression: normalization during
Knut A Hestad1, Sverre Tønseth, Charlotte D Støen
1NTNU-Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Psychology, N-7440 Trondheim, Norway. khestad@online.no
Objective:
To examine whether electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) could modulate tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha levels in patients with depressive disorders.
Method:
Plasma levels of TNFalpha were analyzed in 23 depressed patients, mainly with severe depressive disorders, and in 15 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. Fifteen depressed patients were followed longitudinally with measurement of TNFalpha before, during, and after repeated ECT treatment. For comparison, TNFalpha levels were also analyzed longitudinally in the 8 depressed patients not receiving ECT.
Results:
Patients with depressive disorders had markedly raised TNFalpha levels compared with healthy controls. The clinical improvement during repeated ECT was accompanied by a gradual and significant decline in TNFalpha level, reaching levels comparable with those in healthy controls at the end of the study. Such a decline was not seen in the depressed patients not receiving ECT, who instead showed raised TNFalpha levels throughout the study period.
Conclusion:
Our findings support an association between inflammation and TNFalpha in particular and severe depression, and suggest that ECT may down-regulate this immune activation.
