Serum interleukin-6 is related to lower cognitive functioning in elderly patients with major depression<sup/>.
There is an increased evidence of an association between inflammatory mediators, particularly serum IL-6, depression and cognitive impairment in the elderly. This study aims at exploring the relation of peripheral IL-6 to cognitive functions in elderly patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).



(1) Assessment of serum IL-6 levels and cognitive functions in elderly patients suffering from major depression and comparing them to healthy age-matched control subjects; (2) correlation between serum IL-6 levels and clinical characteristics of depression and cognitive functions in these patients.



The study is an observational, case-control study. It consisted of 80 subjects, 40 with the diagnosis of MDD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV-TR) with early onset (first episode before the age of 60) and 40 community-dwelling subjects. They were subjected to the Structured Clinical Interview according to DSM-IV, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale, and serum IL-6 assay using ELISA.



In the depression group, subjects had lower scores in cognitive testing, than the control group (p = 0.001). Serum IL-6 was found to have a negative correlation with cognitive testing in these patients even after controlling for the severity of depressive status and Body Mass Index (BMI) (p = 0.025).



MDD in elderly subjects is associated with decline in cognitive functions that may be related to peripheral IL-6 levels.
a Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neuropsychiatry , Helwan University Hospital , Egypt.
Nehad Samir
NS
Ali
b Faculty of Medicine, Psychiatry Department , Cairo University , Egypt.
Abdel Hamid Hashem
AHH
Hashem
b Faculty of Medicine, Psychiatry Department , Cairo University , Egypt.
Akmal Mostafa
AM
Hassan
b Faculty of Medicine, Psychiatry Department , Cairo University , Egypt.
Alia Adel
AA
Saleh
c Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Pathology , Cairo University , Egypt.
Heba Nabil
HN
El-Baz
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000097:blood*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male
C508600:IL6 protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6
Serum interleukin 6; cognitive functions; depression; elderly