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Increased plasma levels of soluble TNF receptor I in patients with bipolar disorder

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Abstract

Bipolar disorder (BD) has been associated with a proinflammatory state in which TNF-α seems to play a relevant role. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the plasma levels of TNF-α and its soluble receptors (sTNFR1 and sTNFR2) in BD patients in mania and euthymia in comparison with control subjects. We evaluated 53 BD patients (34 in mania and 19 in euthymia) and 38 healthy subjects. All subjects were assessed by the Mini-International Neuropsychiatry Interview (MINI-Plus). Patients were also evaluated by the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and by Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Plasma TNF-α and its soluble receptors were measured by ELISA. The plasma TNF-α and sTNFR2 levels did not differ between groups, but higher sTNFR1 levels were found in BD patients. Of note, BD patients in mania had higher sTNFR1 levels than BD patients in euthymia and controls. The sTNFR1 and sTNFR2 levels correlated with BD duration, and sTNFR2 levels correlated with age of patients. Our data indicate a proinflammatory status in BD patients during mania and further suggest that inflammatory mechanisms may be involved with the physiopathology of BD.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from CAPES, CNPq and Rede Instituto Brasileiro de Neurociência (IBNet), Brazil.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroscience Program, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Izabela Guimarães Barbosa, Rodrigo Barreto Huguet & Antônio Lúcio Teixeira

  2. Service of Psychiatry, Governador Israel Pinheiro Hospital, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Izabela Guimarães Barbosa & Rodrigo Barreto Huguet

  3. Laboratory of Immunopharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Institute of Biological Sciences, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Izabela Guimarães Barbosa, Vanessa Amaral Mendonça, Lirlândia Pires Sousa & Antônio Lúcio Teixeira

  4. Section of Clinical Pathology, Coltec, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Lirlândia Pires Sousa

  5. Department of Mental Health, School of Medicine, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Fernando Silva Neves

  6. Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology, Institute of Biomedical Research and Faculty of Biosciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Moisés Evandro Bauer

  7. Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Antônio Lúcio Teixeira

  8. Departamento de Clínica Médica da Faculdade de Medicina da UFMG, Av. Alfredo Balena, 190, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30310-130, Brazil

    Antônio Lúcio Teixeira

Authors
  1. Izabela Guimarães Barbosa
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  2. Rodrigo Barreto Huguet
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  3. Vanessa Amaral Mendonça
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  4. Lirlândia Pires Sousa
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  6. Moisés Evandro Bauer
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  7. Antônio Lúcio Teixeira
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Correspondence to Antônio Lúcio Teixeira.

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Barbosa, I.G., Huguet, R.B., Mendonça, V.A. et al. Increased plasma levels of soluble TNF receptor I in patients with bipolar disorder. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 261, 139–143 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-010-0116-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-010-0116-z

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