TY - JOUR
T1 - A cytokine study in children and adolescents with Tourette's disorder
AU - Gabbay, Vilma
AU - Coffey, Barbara J.
AU - Guttman, Leah E.
AU - Gottlieb, Lev
AU - Katz, Yisrael
AU - Babb, James S.
AU - Hamamoto, Mia M.
AU - Gonzalez, Charles J.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by grants from NIH (AT002395, MH077072) , the Tourette Syndrome Association, the NYU School of Medicine General Clinical Research Center grant (M01-RR00096), and generous gifts from the Anita Saltz Foundation, and from Bruce and Claude Wasserstein. The authors thank Dr. Rachel G. Klein for her helpful comments on this manuscript.
PY - 2009/8/31
Y1 - 2009/8/31
N2 - Background: While immune system dysregulation has been postulated to play a role in Tourette's disorder (TD), most research has focused on the hypothesis of an autoimmune process similar to rheumatic fever. This study examined the potential role of cytokines, modulators of the immune system. We hypothesized that children with TD would have increased levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-12, IL-1β and IL-6, and decreased IL-2. We also explored whether comorbid obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) had an effect on the cytokine profile of TD patients. Method: Thirty-two children and adolescents with TD (27 males, ages 7-18 years), 17 with comorbid OCD (14 males), and 16 healthy comparison subjects (7 males, ages 9-19), were enrolled. Plasma cytokines were examined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The Mann-Whitney and binary logistic regression tests were used to compare the groups. Results: Only patients with comorbid OCD (TD+OCD; n = 17) had significantly elevated IL-12 plasma levels compared to controls (2.73 ± 5.12 pg/ml vs. 0.55 ± 0.88 pg/ml, rank statistic = 222.5; p < 0.04). IL-2 was significantly higher in the TD+OCD subgroup compared to the non-OCD TD subgroup (0.74 ± 0.29 pg/ml vs. 0.49 ± 0.24 pg/ml, rank statistics = 108.5; p < 0.03). There were no other significant cytokine differences between groups. Conclusions: Findings suggest a role for IL-12 and IL-2 in TD, and that the TD+OCD subgroup may involve different neuroimmunological functions than the TD-OCD subgroup. Larger studies with medication-free patients should follow.
AB - Background: While immune system dysregulation has been postulated to play a role in Tourette's disorder (TD), most research has focused on the hypothesis of an autoimmune process similar to rheumatic fever. This study examined the potential role of cytokines, modulators of the immune system. We hypothesized that children with TD would have increased levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-12, IL-1β and IL-6, and decreased IL-2. We also explored whether comorbid obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) had an effect on the cytokine profile of TD patients. Method: Thirty-two children and adolescents with TD (27 males, ages 7-18 years), 17 with comorbid OCD (14 males), and 16 healthy comparison subjects (7 males, ages 9-19), were enrolled. Plasma cytokines were examined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The Mann-Whitney and binary logistic regression tests were used to compare the groups. Results: Only patients with comorbid OCD (TD+OCD; n = 17) had significantly elevated IL-12 plasma levels compared to controls (2.73 ± 5.12 pg/ml vs. 0.55 ± 0.88 pg/ml, rank statistic = 222.5; p < 0.04). IL-2 was significantly higher in the TD+OCD subgroup compared to the non-OCD TD subgroup (0.74 ± 0.29 pg/ml vs. 0.49 ± 0.24 pg/ml, rank statistics = 108.5; p < 0.03). There were no other significant cytokine differences between groups. Conclusions: Findings suggest a role for IL-12 and IL-2 in TD, and that the TD+OCD subgroup may involve different neuroimmunological functions than the TD-OCD subgroup. Larger studies with medication-free patients should follow.
KW - Cytokines
KW - Interleukin-12
KW - Interleukin-2
KW - Obsessive compulsive disorder
KW - Tourette's disorder
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U2 - 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2009.05.001
DO - 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2009.05.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 19427348
AN - SCOPUS:67651093937
SN - 0278-5846
VL - 33
SP - 967
EP - 971
JO - Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
JF - Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
IS - 6
ER -