title: Cerebrospinal fluid interleukin-6 in obsessive-compulsive disorder and trichotillomania.
abstract: Recent studies have suggested that neuroimmune abnormalities may play an important role in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disorders. This study was undertaken to determine whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-6 differ between OCD and trichotillomania patients and healthy control subjects. Lumbar puncture with a standardized procedure was performed on 26 patients with OCD and 9 with trichotillomania. All patients were drug-free and met DSM-IV criteria. Twenty-six age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers underwent the same procedure. CSF was assayed for IL-6 using a quantitative 'sandwich' enzyme immunoassay technique. Mean+/-S.D. CSF IL-6 levels did not differ between OCD patients (n=26) (2.4+/-1.1 pg/ml) and controls (n=26) (2.4+/-1.9 pg/ml) or between trichotillomania patients (n=9) (2.3+/-0.8 pg/ml) and their matched controls (n=14) (1.9+/-0.5 pg/ml). These findings fail to support speculation that ongoing immune activation may be causally involved in the pathogenesis of OCD or trichotillomania.
authors.affiliation: Mood Disorders Research Program, Butler Hospital, and Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown Medical School, Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone Boulevard, Providence, RI 02906, USA. linda_carpenter_md@brown.edu
authors.forename: Linda L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.forename: George R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Heninger
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: McDougle
authors.forename: Audrey R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Tyrka
authors.forename: C Neill
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Epperson
authors.forename: Lawrence H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Price
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000276:immunology*; D011598:Psychoneuroimmunology; D014256:Trichotillomania / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6