Is bipolar disorder an inflammatory condition? The relevance of microglial activation

Purpose of review Literature published over the past few years indicates that bipolar disorder has an inflammatory component but does not explicitly define bipolar disorder as an inflammatory or a noninflammatory condition. Recent findings Recent studies have shown that bipolar disorder involves microglial activation and alterations in peripheral cytokines and have pointed to the efficacy of adjunctive anti-inflammatory therapies in bipolar depression. Summary The presence of active microglia and increased proinflammatory cytokines in bipolar disorder suggests an important role of inflammatory components in the pathophysiology of the disease, as well as a possible link between neuroinflammation and peripheral toxicity.