BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that an activation of the immune-inflammatory system is involved in the pathophysiology of depressive disorders. The purposes of this study were to (1) compare immune-inflammatory markers in patients with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) with those in matched normal controls; and (2) examine the effects of light therapy on the immune-inflammatory markers in patients with SAD. METHODS: Plasma concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) and soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) were measured in 15 patients with SAD and 15 age- and sex-matched normal controls. Of the 15 patients, 14 had repeated blood sampling for these variables following 2 weeks of light therapy. RESULTS: We found that patients with SAD had significantly increased IL-6 levels compared to normal controls (P<0.0005). There was a trend toward increased sIL-2R in patients with SAD (P=0.09). There was no significant difference in sIL-6R level between the two diagnostic groups (P=0.18), but the product term (IL-6xsIL-6R) was significantly higher in patients with SAD than that in normal control controls (P<0.0003). Furthermore, all 14 patients who completed the study improved with 2 weeks of light therapy and nine of them (64%) had 50% reduction in score of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-SAD version post-treatment compared to baseline. However, the initially increased immune markers in SAD patients were not significantly altered by the therapeutic light therapy. LIMITATIONS: This study was limited to a small sample size and other immune inflammatory markers should be measured for further evidence of immune activation in seasonal depression. CONCLUSIONS: Our results of increased IL-6, IL-6xsIL-6R, and sIL-2R in patients with SAD suggest an activation of the immune-inflammatory system in winter depression, which is not altered by 2 weeks of successful light therapy.
BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that an activation of the immune-inflammatory system is involved in the pathophysiology of depressive disorders. The purposes of this study were to (1) compare immune-inflammatory markers in patients with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) with those in matched normal controls; and (2) examine the effects of light therapy on the immune-inflammatory markers in patients with SAD. METHODS: Plasma concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) and soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) were measured in 15 patients with SAD and 15 age- and sex-matched normal controls. Of the 15 patients, 14 had repeated blood sampling for these variables following 2 weeks of light therapy. RESULTS: We found that patients with SAD had significantly increased IL-6 levels compared to normal controls (P<0.0005). There was a trend toward increased sIL-2R in patients with SAD (P=0.09). There was no significant difference in sIL-6R level between the two diagnostic groups (P=0.18), but the product term (IL-6xsIL-6R) was significantly higher in patients with SAD than that in normal control controls (P<0.0003). Furthermore, all 14 patients who completed the study improved with 2 weeks of light therapy and nine of them (64%) had 50% reduction in score of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-SAD version post-treatment compared to baseline. However, the initially increased immune markers in SADpatients were not significantly altered by the therapeutic light therapy. LIMITATIONS: This study was limited to a small sample size and other immune inflammatory markers should be measured for further evidence of immune activation in seasonal depression. CONCLUSIONS: Our results of increased IL-6, IL-6xsIL-6R, and sIL-2R in patients with SAD suggest an activation of the immune-inflammatory system in winter depression, which is not altered by 2 weeks of successful light therapy.
Authors: Hira Mohyuddin; Polymnia Georgiou; Abhishek Wadhawan; Melanie L Daue; Lisa A Brenner; Claudia Gragnoli; Erika F H Saunders; Dietmar Fuchs; Christopher A Lowry; Teodor T Postolache Journal: Pteridines Date: 2017-12-02 Impact factor: 0.581
Authors: Faisal Akram; Claudia Gragnoli; Uttam K Raheja; Soren Snitker; Christopher A Lowry; Kelly A Stearns-Yoder; Andrew J Hoisington; Lisa A Brenner; Erika Saunders; John W Stiller; Kathleen A Ryan; Kelly J Rohan; Braxton D Mitchell; Teodor T Postolache Journal: J Psychiatr Res Date: 2020-01-02 Impact factor: 4.791
Authors: Konstantin A Demin; Anton M Lakstygal; Nataliya A Krotova; Alexey Masharsky; Natsuki Tagawa; Maria V Chernysh; Nikita P Ilyin; Alexander S Taranov; David S Galstyan; Ksenia A Derzhavina; Nataliia A Levchenko; Tatiana O Kolesnikova; Mikael S Mor; Marina L Vasyutina; Evgeniya V Efimova; Nataliia Katolikova; Andrey D Prjibelski; Raul R Gainetdinov; Murilo S de Abreu; Tamara G Amstislavskaya; Tatyana Strekalova; Allan V Kalueff Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2020-11-17 Impact factor: 4.379