Figure 4
From: Weakened Cholinergic Blockade of Inflammation Associates with Diabetes-Related Depression
Co-increased depression and inflammation in apparently healthy and diabetic participants. (A) Inflammation associates with depression scores in healthy volunteers. Shown are serum C-reactive protein levels in mg/L as a function of total PHQ score. (B) Cholinergic status increase with the number of metabolic syndrome components. (C) Depression in diabetic patients is higher than in controls. (D) Cholinergic status in diabetic patients is larger than in controls. (E) The vicious cycle of cholinergic blockade of inflammation and depression. With aging, increasing cholinesterase (ChE) activities reduce acetylcholine (ACh) levels, interfering with the blockade of inflammation by ACh and potentiating depression that may reciprocally increase ChE activities.