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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Apr 1.
Published in final edited form as: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2018 Feb 2;87:56–66. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.01.010

Figure 1. Hypothetical relationships between depressive disorders, vascular risk factors and cognitive vulnerability mediated by inflammatory activity and oxidative stress.

Figure 1

Anti-inflammatory lipid mediators (e.g. fatty acid epoxides) are metabolized by soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) into less beneficial (less bioactive) and sometimes even pro-inflammatory or cytotoxic oxylipin diol species. Increased sEH activity in the brain and vasculature in depressive disorders may confer vulnerability to vascular risk factors that affect neurovascular coupling/cerebral blood flow/brain metabolism and contribute to cognitive and mood symptoms, and predispose cerebrovascular disease that contribute to neuroprogression and cognitive decline.