The Relation between Major Depression and Plasma levels of Cytokines and High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein

Abstract

A little is known about the relation of plasma cytokines with psychological risk factors, such as hopelessness, and the severityof depressive symptoms. The present work studied theeffect of depression onplasma interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in 40 subjects. Participants included two groups; patient group included 20 nonsmoking males (aged 20–40years), recruited from the psychiatry clinic at Kasr El-Ainy Hospital fulfilling the DSM-IV Axis I disorders criteria for major depression. Control group included 20 healthy, nonsmoking males (age matched with no current or past history of psychiatric disorders). After an overnight fast, blood samples were collected and plasma IL-6, IL-1β, and hsCRP were determined using enzymatic-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), also fasting total cholesterol (TC) and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were estimated on the same day that the BeckDepression Inventory (BDI), Hopelessness Scale (HS) and full psychiatric sheet were accomplished. The results of the study showed a significant increase in depressed patients compared to normal controls as regards mean scores of BDI, HS, IL-1β, IL-6 and hsCRP. There was, also, a significant increase in both patients withmoderate and severe depression compared to patients with mild depression asregards mean scores of BDI, IL-1β, IL-6 and hsCRP. There was, also, a significant difference between patients with mild hopelessness and those with moderate and severe hopelessness as regards mean scores of HS, IL-1β, IL-6 and hsCRP.Conclusion: Patients with major depression revealed high levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and hsCRP. That finding makes such patients more vulnerable to cerebrovascular accidents, where elevation of plasma cytokines and inflammatory markers are considered as risk factors for myocardial infarction