Guest guest Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 1: Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2004 Aug;29(7):945-52. Related Articles, Links Decreased TNF-alpha and NK activity in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Denys D, Fluitman S, Kavelaars A, Heijnen C, Westenberg H. Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. d.a.j.p.denys@... BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence points towards the involvement of autoimmune mechanisms in the pathophysiology of some subgroups of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study was carried out to investigate whether obsessive-compulsive disorder is associated with altered activity of the immune system, and whether these changes are related to particular clinical characteristics. METHODS: Ex vivo production of TNF-alpha, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and IFN-gamma in whole blood cultures, and NK-cell activity and peripheral blood NK cell-, monocytes-, T-cell-, and B-cell- percentages were measured in 50 medication-free outpatients with OCD and 25 controls. RESULTS: In OCD patients, we found a significant decrease in production of TNF-alpha (p < 0.0001) and NK-activity (p = 0.002) in comparison with controls. No significant differences were observed in the other immune variables. Patients with first-degree relatives with OCD had significant lower NK-activity than patients who had no relatives with OCD (p = 0.02), and patients with a childhood onset of OCD had significantly lower number of NK-cells than patients with a late onset (p= 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Changes in TNF-alpha and NK activity suggest a potential role of altered immune function in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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