Alexithymia and neuroendocrine-immune response in patients with autoimmune diseases: preliminary results on relationship between alexithymic construct and TNF-alpha levels.
Alexithymia is conceptualized as a disorder of emotion regulation mechanisms, which involves a dissociation of emotional and physical responses to life events and bodily sensations. Our results might suggest a possible relationship between the alexithymic construct and TNF levels in RA patients. These preliminary findings corroborate the integrated bidirectional interactions between neuropsychological mechanisms and the neuroendocrine-immune system in patients affected by autoimmune diseases and contribute to finding a common biological pathway linking alexithymia and autoimmune-inflammatory diseases.
Bruni
R
R
Department of Psychiatry, University Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy. bruni@dis.uniroma1.it
Serino
F M
FM
Galluzzo
S
S
Coppolino
G
G
Cacciapaglia
F
F
Vadacca
M
M
Nilo
S
S
Terminio
N
N
Afeltra
A
A
D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009490:Neurosecretory Systems / Q000276:immunology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*
D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha