IL6 and major depressive disorder: Interestingly, improvements in depressive symptoms (as assessed by the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores [HDRS]) were correlated with reductions in IL-1β (r = -0.343, p = 0.035) and in IL-6 (r = -0.403, p = 0.012), suggesting a link between anti-inflammatory and antidepressant effects of ECT in this population (17).