Depression correlated with cellular immunity in systemic immunodeficient Epstein-Barr virus syndrome (SIDES).
We conducted studies on the peripheral blood of 12 depressed patients with previous diagnoses of mood and/or personality disorders. These patients, and other depressives we observed informally, were resistant to infectious mononucleosis during an epidemic of that illness. All 12 had serologic evidence of a chronic or recrudescent viremia caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the infectious agent in infectious mononucleosis. Additional evidence that EBV viremia may be causally related to depression was provided by a strong correlation between the intensity of depressive symptoms and the cellular immune response to the EBV infection.
D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000097:blood; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D012701:Serotonin / Q000097:blood
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D012701:Serotonin; D004837:Epinephrine