{"id":7261,"date":"2026-06-12T13:09:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T13:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/?p=7261"},"modified":"2026-06-12T13:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T13:14:10","slug":"arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Arthritis drug touted as alternative anti-depression therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"664\" height=\"830\" src=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7262\" style=\"width:337px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51.png 664w, https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51-576x720.png 576w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 664px) 100vw, 664px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>By Murray Sherriffs<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A drug now being used to treat rheumatoid arthritis is being viewed as a significant treatment avenue for individuals battling depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers say that tocilizumab\u2014an anti-inflammatory medication\u2014could alleviate symptoms in patients who don&#8217;t respond to standard antidepressant therapies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One in three patients don&#8217;t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Early evidence shows that tocilizumab may reduce depressive symptoms, combat fatigue, anxiety and improve overall quality of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Research at the University of Bristol builds on findings which reveal that about a third of people with depression show signs of inflammation in their blood, suggesting the condition could be linked to an overactive immune system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study is published in the journal <em><a href=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/\">JAMA Psychiatry<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Murray Sherriffs A drug now being used to treat rheumatoid arthritis is being viewed as a significant treatment avenue for individuals battling depression. Researchers say that tocilizumab\u2014an anti-inflammatory medication\u2014could alleviate symptoms in patients who don&#8217;t respond to standard antidepressant therapies. One in three patients don&#8217;t. Early evidence shows that tocilizumab may reduce depressive symptoms,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Arthritis drug touted as alternative anti-depression therapy - Newscoverage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Arthritis drug touted as alternative anti-depression therapy - Newscoverage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Murray Sherriffs A drug now being used to treat rheumatoid arthritis is being viewed as a significant treatment avenue for individuals battling depression. Researchers say that tocilizumab\u2014an anti-inflammatory medication\u2014could alleviate symptoms in patients who don&#8217;t respond to standard antidepressant therapies. One in three patients don&#8217;t. Early evidence shows that tocilizumab may reduce depressive symptoms,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newscoverage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-12T13:09:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-12T13:14:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"664\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"830\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"editor robert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"editor robert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"editor robert\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\"},\"headline\":\"Arthritis drug touted as alternative anti-depression therapy\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-12T13:09:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-12T13:14:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":119,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arthritis drug touted as alternative anti-depression therapy - Newscoverage\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-12T13:09:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-12T13:14:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51.png\",\"width\":664,\"height\":830},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Arthritis drug touted as alternative anti-depression therapy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Newscoverage\",\"description\":\"newscoverage.org\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\",\"name\":\"editor robert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"editor robert\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/robert.frank.90834\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/editor-robert\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Arthritis drug touted as alternative anti-depression therapy - Newscoverage","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Arthritis drug touted as alternative anti-depression therapy - Newscoverage","og_description":"By Murray Sherriffs A drug now being used to treat rheumatoid arthritis is being viewed as a significant treatment avenue for individuals battling depression. Researchers say that tocilizumab\u2014an anti-inflammatory medication\u2014could alleviate symptoms in patients who don&#8217;t respond to standard antidepressant therapies. One in three patients don&#8217;t. Early evidence shows that tocilizumab may reduce depressive symptoms,","og_url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/","og_site_name":"Newscoverage","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834","article_published_time":"2026-06-12T13:09:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-12T13:14:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":664,"height":830,"url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"editor robert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"editor robert","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/"},"author":{"name":"editor robert","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3"},"headline":"Arthritis drug touted as alternative anti-depression therapy","datePublished":"2026-06-12T13:09:47+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-12T13:14:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/"},"wordCount":119,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51.png","inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/","url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/","name":"Arthritis drug touted as alternative anti-depression therapy - Newscoverage","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51.png","datePublished":"2026-06-12T13:09:47+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-12T13:14:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-09.08.51.png","width":664,"height":830},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/arthritis-drug-touted-as-alternative-anti-depression-therapy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Arthritis drug touted as alternative anti-depression therapy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/","name":"Newscoverage","description":"newscoverage.org","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3","name":"editor robert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"editor robert"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834"],"url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/author\/editor-robert\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7261"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7265,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7261\/revisions\/7265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}