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Etanercept, anticytokines and mania
1Department of Psychiatry, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901, USA. kaufmakr@umdnj.edu
International Clinical Psychopharmacology
|June 4, 2005
Summary
Novel anticytokine treatments for autoimmune diseases may trigger mania in vulnerable patients with affective disorders. This case study explores the link between tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonism and manic episodes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimmunology
- Psychiatry
- Rheumatology
Background:
- Cytokines play a role in both psychiatric and medical conditions.
- Proinflammatory cytokines are linked to depression.
- Anticytokine therapies offer a new approach to studying cytokine involvement in mood disorders.
Observation:
- Antidepressants can induce mania and resolve cytokine-induced depression.
- A patient with psoriatic arthritis was treated with etanercept, a tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonist.
- This treatment led to the development of a manic episode.
Findings:
- The study describes a case of manic episode development in a patient treated with etanercept.
- This suggests a potential link between tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonism and mood cycling.
Implications:
- Anticytokine treatments might precipitate mania in susceptible individuals with affective disorders.
- Further research is needed to understand the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.
- This highlights the importance of monitoring mood in patients receiving anticytokine therapy.