Local elevation of the anti-inflammatory interleukin-10 in the pathogenesis of chronic subdural hematoma.

We investigated the relationship between inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) by measuring the plasma and subdural fluid levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and interleukin-10 (IL-10). The levels of IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 were measured in the subdural fluid obtained from 34 patients with CSDH, using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The patients were classified into a high IL-10 group and a low IL-10 group according to the level of IL-10 in their subdural fluid samples. The subdural fluid levels of IL-6 and IL-8 were significantly higher in the high IL-10 group than in the low IL-10 group (P<0.05). A tendency for the patients in the low IL-10 group to show the separated or layer type of pattern on the CT scans was noted.