Joshua Hare

Equity Interest - Non-publicly traded entity ( e.g., stock, stock option, or other ownership interest)

Stem Cell Therapy, Inflammation and Treatment Response inAlcoholism-Depression Comorbidity

Project Narrative Alcoholism with comorbid major depression is among the most frequent psychiatric conditions encountered in clinical practice and is associated with significant morbidity and severe complications such as suicidal behavior. Effective treatments for this comorbid condition are lacking and there is still a significant unmet treatment need. Underlying pro-inflammatory mechanisms are emerging as key pathophysiological factors in both alcoholism and major depression and they appear to play a bidirectional role in perpetuating the vicious cycle of worsening the course of both depression and alcoholism. No studies have been conducted in alcoholism and co-occurring depression to determine the effects of optimal treatment of patients with elevated biomarkers of inflammation. We will test a novel treatment that has been proven to be safe and with a board and sustained anti-inflammatory effect in a patients with alcohol and comorbid depression preselected for high inflammatory markers. The results of this study, if successful, will have strong impact on the field of therapeutics for patients with alcoholism and comorbid depression as well as for patients with similar complex conditions with underlying pro-inflammatory mechanisms.