title: Alexithymia and neuroendocrine-immune response in patients with autoimmune diseases: preliminary results on relationship between alexithymic construct and TNF-alpha levels.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy. bruni@dis.uniroma1.it
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bruni
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Serino
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galluzzo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coppolino
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cacciapaglia
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vadacca
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nilo
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Terminio
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Afeltra
mesh_terms: 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*
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha