Increased serum levels of interleukin-12 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in Tourette's syndrome.
BACKGROUND
The hypothesis that common infections can modulate the onset and course of tic disorders and early-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in pediatric populations is longstanding. To date, most investigations have focused on the hypothesis of molecular mimicry and humoral immune responses. This study was carried out to investigate whether cytokines associated with the innate immune response or T cell activation were altered under baseline conditions and during periods of symptom exacerbation.


METHODS
Forty-six patients with Tourette's syndrome and/or early-onset OCD, aged 7-17 years, and 31 age-matched control subjects participated in a prospective longitudinal study. Ratings of clinical severity and serum were collected at regular intervals, and serum concentrations of 10 cytokines were measured repeatedly.


RESULTS
Interleukin-12 and tumor necrosis factor alpha concentrations at baseline were elevated in patients compared with control subjects. Both of these markers were further increased during periods of symptom exacerbation.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that symptom exacerbations are associated with an inflammatory process propagated by systemic and local cytokine synthesis that might involve the central nervous system. We conclude that, in the future, longitudinal studies of children with neuropsychiatric disorders should examine the involvement of innate and T cell immunity.
Leckman
James F
JF
Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-7900, USA. james.leckman@yale.edu
Katsovich
Liliya
L
Kawikova
Ivana
I
Lin
Haiqun
H
Zhang
Heping
H
Krönig
Holger
H
Morshed
Syed
S
Parveen
Salina
S
Grantz
Heidi
H
Lombroso
Paul J
PJ
King
Robert A
RA
D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000097:blood*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000097:blood*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*
D016207:Cytokines; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D018664:Interleukin-12