Plasma levels of cytokines and soluble cytokine receptors during treatment with haloperidol.
OBJECTIVE
Clozapine increases the levels of cytokines and soluble cytokine receptors. The authors investigated whether haloperidol has similar effects.


METHODS
Rectal temperature, white blood cell counts, and plasma levels of cytokines and soluble cytokine receptors were assessed before and during 6 weeks of haloperidol treatment in 10 psychiatric patients.


RESULTS
Haloperidol at mean doses of 7.0 mg/day (SD = 3.4), 6.9 mg/day (SD = 3.4), and 5.0 mg/day (SD = 3.1) at the end of the 1st, 2nd, and 6th weeks of treatment, respectively, did not affect rectal temperature, white blood cell counts, or plasma level of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), soluble TNF receptor p55 or p75, or soluble interleukin-2 receptor.


CONCLUSIONS
Haloperidol is unlikely to confound the results of studies investigating disease-related alterations in the levels of a broad range of cytokines and soluble cytokine receptors in schizophrenia.
Pollmächer
T
T
Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany. topo@mpipsykl.mpg.de
Hinze-Selch
D
D
Fenzel
T
T
Kraus
T
T
Schuld
A
A
Mullington
J
J
D000328:Adult; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D018121:Receptors, Cytokine / Q000097:blood / Q000187:drug effects*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000032:analysis
D016207:Cytokines; D018121:Receptors, Cytokine; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D006220:Haloperidol