Treatment of Depression Using Agents that Block Binding of IL-6 to IL-6 Receptor

Abstract

A method for treating depression or fatigue in a subject comprises administering an agent that blocks binding of IL-6 to IL-6 receptor, for example, an anti-IL-6 antibody or an antigen-binding fragment thereof that may comprise a heavy chain variable region and a light chain variable region of SEQ ID NO:99 and SEQ ID NO:97, respectively or a heavy chain variable region and a light chain variable region of SEQ ID NO:139 and SEQ ID NO:140, respectively. In addition, a method for determining responsiveness of an individual having depression to treatment with IL-6 antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof, comprises: (a) measuring the amount of soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) in a biological sample from the subject; (b) providing a threshold value correlating the amount of sIL-6R and responsiveness; (c) comparing the amount of sIL-6R to the threshold value to determine responsiveness; and (d) treating the individual with an agent that blocks binding of IL-6 to IL-6 receptor.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.