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A review by rschmidt7
Het ontstoken brein by Edward Bullmore
4.0
There might be a lot to the central idea: that bodily inflammation causes depressive symptoms. But ultimately the book falls a little flat because it feels like "a distinction without a difference." In other words, what difference does it make if inflammation causes depression when it doesn't actually open up any treatment options and when Big Pharma refuses to research the idea further?
Bullmore tries to answer this in the final chapter called "So What?" but it's a frustrating and unsatisfactory answer. I guess this isn't really Bullmore's fault, but it underscores how frustratingly little progress has been made in treating depression in the last few decades. Maybe in the long run, immunopsychology or psychoneuroimmunology or whatever you want to call it will actually unlock new ways to treat inflammatory depression. But for right now, here we are.
Bullmore tries to answer this in the final chapter called "So What?" but it's a frustrating and unsatisfactory answer. I guess this isn't really Bullmore's fault, but it underscores how frustratingly little progress has been made in treating depression in the last few decades. Maybe in the long run, immunopsychology or psychoneuroimmunology or whatever you want to call it will actually unlock new ways to treat inflammatory depression. But for right now, here we are.