The Inflamed Mind: A radical new approach to depression

Worldwide, depression will be the single biggest cause of disability in the next 20 years. But treatment for it has not changed much in the last three decades. In the world of psychiatry, time has apparently stood still... until now.

In this game-changing book, University of Cambridge Professor Edward Bullmore reveals the breakthrough new science on the link between depression and inflammation of the body and brain. He explains how and why we now know that mental disorders can have their root cause in the immune system, and outlines a future revolution in which treatments could be specifically targeted to break the vicious cycle of stress, inflammation and depression.

The Inflamed Mind goes far beyond the clinic and the lab, representing a whole new way of looking at how mind, brain and body all work together in a sometimes misguided effort to help us survive in a hostile world. It offers insights into the story of Western medicine, how we have got it wrong as well as right in the past, and how we could start getting to grips with depression and other mental disorders much more effectively in the future.



Praise for The Inflamed Mind: A Radical New Approach to Depression

"Suddenly an expert who wants to stop and question everything we thought we knew... This is a lesson in the workings of the brain far too important to ignore." - Jeremy Vine, BBC

"Professor Bullmore explores how the current division between Psychiatry and the rest of medicine has developed and how we might change that. He puts forward a fascinating theory that attributes depression to inflammation rather than serotonin imbalance as has traditionally been thought. Whatever the truth, this book is a stimulating and interesting read.'"- Wendy Burn, President Royal College of Psychiatrists

"A great read, this thought provoking book presents inflammation as the major driver of depression. A real page turner that raises important questions for us all, including, how we should practise medicine going forwards and can we restart Research and Development using this paradigm? Highly recommended." - Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer for England

"An important book, a hopeful book, for anyone who wants to think about depression in a new way. " - Tom Insel MD, Co-founder and President, Mindstrong Health

"Erudite, enjoyable, and accessible... The Inflamed Mind confronts the reader with the converging revolutions in neuroscience and immunology that give rise to a new perspective about depression and its treatment." - John H. Krystal, MD, Chair, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine

"The Inflamed Mind is not only a dramatic breakthrough in our understanding of depression. It is an extraordinary exploration of what it is to be human." - Matthew D'Ancona, author of 'Post Truth'

"Compelling and highly readable." - Professor Sir Colin Blakemore, University of London

"Groundbreaking." ― The Times

"Fascinating." ― Today Programme, BBC

About the Author

Edward Bullmore is Co-Chair of Cambridge Neuroscience and Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University. He has published hundreds of scientific papers and is one of the most highly cited scientists worldwide in neuroscience and psychiatry.

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