Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Feb;398(2):1081-1097.
doi: 10.1007/s00210-024-03397-w. Epub 2024 Sep 3.

Can infliximab serve as a new therapy for neuropsychiatric symptoms?

Fatemeh Rahmati-Dehkordi  1   2   3 , Nafiseh Birang  4 , Mohammad Naser Jalalian  5 , Zeinab Tamtaji  6 , Ehsan Dadgostar  7   8 , Michael Aschner  9 , Mehdi Shafiee Ardestani  10 , Hamed Jafarpour  11 , Hamed Mirzaei  12 , Fatemeh Nabavizadeh  13   14 , Omid Reza Tamtaji  15   16
Affiliations
Review

Can infliximab serve as a new therapy for neuropsychiatric symptoms?

Fatemeh Rahmati-Dehkordi et al. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2025 Feb.

Abstract

Neuropsychiatric disorders present a global challenge to public health. Mechanisms associated with neuropsychiatric disorders etiology include apoptosis, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation. Tumor necrosis factor alpha, an inflammatory cytokine, mediates pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. Therefore, its inhibition by infliximab might afford a valuable target for intervention. Infliximab is commonly used to treat inflammatory diseases, including ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Recently, it has been shown that infliximab improves cognitive dysfunction, depression, anxiety, and life quality. Here, we review contemporary knowledge supporting the need to further characterize infliximab as a potential treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Keywords: Cognition; Depression; Inflammation; Infliximab; Neuropsychiatric disorders.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval: This is a review study. The TUMS Research Ethics Committee has confirmed that no ethical approval is required. Consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

References

    1. Araújo EP, De SouzaUeno CM, Cintra DE, Bertolo MB, Carvalheira JB, Velloso LA (2007) Infliximab restores glucose homeostasis in an animal model of diet-induced obesity and diabetes. Endocrinol 148(12):5991–5997
    1. Armstrong A, McBride S, Spelman L, Fernández-Peñas P, Rich P, Martin G, Hellot S (2022) 33259 Improvements in anxiety and depression among patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis treated with certolizumab pegol: three-year results from 2 phase 3 trials (CIMPASI-1 and CIMPASI-2). J Am Acad Dermatol 87(3):AB175
    1. Bakker A, Mathijssen H, Azzahhafi J, Swaans M, Veltkamp M, Keijsers R, Grutters J (2021) Effectiveness and safety of infliximab in cardiac sarcoidosis. Int J Cardiol 330:179–185 - PubMed
    1. Balzano T, Dadsetan S, Forteza J, Cabrera-Pastor A, Taoro-Gonzalez L, Malaguarnera M, Felipo V (2020) Chronic hyperammonemia induces peripheral inflammation that leads to cognitive impairment in rats: reversed by anti-TNF-α treatment. J Hepatol 73(3):582–592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2019.01.008 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bekhbat M, Chu K, Le NA, Woolwine BJ, Haroon E, Miller AH, Felger JC (2018) Glucose and lipid-related biomarkers and the antidepressant response to infliximab in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Psychoneuroendocrinology 98:222–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.09.004 - DOI - PubMed - PMC

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources