title: Plasma interleukin-18 levels in patients with psychiatric disorders.
abstract: There are an increasing number of reports on an association between the alteration of circulating cytokine levels and pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders. Plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-18 were measured in 13 nonmedicated patients with psychiatric disorders. There was a significant elevation of IL-18 levels in patients with major depression (n = 8) and panic disorder (n = 5), compared with normal controls. The mean IL-18 value of our psychiatric patients was comparable with that of various somatic disorders reported. We suggest that the elevation of plasma IL-18 levels reflects the increased production and release of IL-18 in the central nervous system under stressful settings. We propose that the measurement of IL-18 plasma levels may provide a useful index for the involvement of immune system in psychiatric disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Institute for Advanced Medical Science, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kokai
authors.forename: Shin-ichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kashiwamura
authors.forename: Haruki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Kazuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohara
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morita
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D012016:Reference Values; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D020382:Interleukin-18