Table 1.

Main Types of Medication With Anti-inflammatory Actions

Anti-inflammatory Components	Crosses BBB	Actions in the Brain
Antipsychotics	++	Dopamine receptor blockade (D2), ↑BDNF18
Aspirin	−/+	PG↓, TNF-α↓19
Celecoxib	++	COX-2↓, PG↓18
Cytostatics	−/+	Diverse, eg, for MTX: TNF-α↓20
Davunetide	++	TNF-α↓18
Estrogens	++	TNF-α↓, NO↓21
Fatty acids	++	Zinc↑, TNF-α↓, COX-2↓, IL-1↓18
Leptin	++	IL-4↓, IL-10↑, IFN-γ↓22
Macrolides/tetracyclines	++	IL-1β↓, NO↓23 , 94
Melatonin	++	NO↓, IL-1β↓, TNF-α↓, NF-κβ↓18
Minocycline	++	Microglia inhibition, TNF-α↓24
Monoclonal antibodies	−/+	Inhibition of one specific component
NAC	++	IL-1β↓, TNF-α↓25 , 95
Corticosteroids	−/+	Inhibition of many steps in innate and specific immune response
Transplantation adjuncts	−/+	IL-1/2/4↓

Note: ++ = excellent BBB crossing, +/− = lower CNS concentrations that in peripheral blood. BBB, blood-brain barrier; BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor; COX, cyclooxygenase; IFN, interferon; IL, interleukin; MTX, methotrexate; NAC, N-acetylcysteine; NF-κβ, nuclear factor-κβ; PG, prostaglandin; TNF, tumor necrosis factor.