Association between cytokines and psychiatric symptoms in chronic fatigue syndrome and healthy controls |
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Authors: | Nina Groven Egil A Fors Valentina C Iversen Linda R White Solveig Klæbo Reitan |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway;2. nina.groven@ntnu.no;4. General Practice Research Unit, Department of Public Health Sciences and Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway;5. Department of Tiller DPS, St. Olav’s University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway;6. Department of Neurology, St. Olav’s Hospital, Trondheim, Norway;7. Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway;8. Department of Psychiatry, St. Olav’s Hospital, Trondheim, Norway |
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Abstract: | AbstractPurpose: The reports regarding the status of the immune system in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalopathy (CFS/ME) have been inconclusive. We approached this question by comparing a strictly defined group of CFS/ME outpatients to healthy control individuals, and thereafter studied cytokines in subgroups with various psychiatric symptoms.Materials and methods: Twenty patients diagnosed with CFS/ME according to the Fukuda criteria and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Plasma was analysed by ELISA for levels of the cytokines TNF-α, IL-4, IL-6 and IL-10. Participants also answered questionnaires regarding health in general, and psychiatric symptoms in detail.Results: Increased plasma levels of TNF-α in CFS/ME patients almost reached significance compared to healthy controls (p?=?.056). When studying the CFS/ME and control groups separately, there was a significant correlation between TNF-α and The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) depressive symptoms in controls only, not in the CFS/ME group. A correlation between IL-10 and psychoticism was found in both groups, whereas the correlation for somatisation was seen only in the CFS/ME group. When looking at the total population, there was a significant correlation between TNF-α and both the HADS depressive symptoms and the SCL-90-R cluster somatisation. Also, there was a significant association between IL-10 and the SCL-90-R cluster somatisation when analyzing the cohort (patients and controls together).Conclusions: These findings indicate that immune activity in CFS/ME patients deviates from that of healthy controls, which implies potential pathogenic mechanisms and possible therapeutic approaches to CFS/ME. More comprehensive studies should be carried out on defined CFS/ME subgroups. |
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Keywords: | Immunopsychiatry cytokines chronic fatigue syndrome depression inflammation psychiatry |
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