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Published on: August 7, 2017
Decreased IFN-γ and IL-12 levels in panic disorder
Raşit Tükel1, Belkis Atasever Arslan, Banu Aslantaş Ertekin
1Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Istanbul University, Capa, Istanbul, Turkey. rtukel@gmail.com
Objective:
The aim of this study is to assess the measures of proinflammatory cytokines in patients with panic disorder in comparison with the healthy subjects.
Methods:
Twenty three patients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia and twenty three controls were recruited for the study. Plasma samples of all subjects were analyzed for TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-12 concentrations and NK-cell activity is measured in the peripheral blood samples of the subjects.
Results:
We found significant differences on the mean values of IL-12 (p=0.01) and IFN-γ (p=0.02) between the panic disorder and control groups. In a logistic regression analysis, IFN-γ values were significant statistical predictors of the presence of panic disorder (B=-0.07, SE=0.03, p=0.04).
Conclusion:
The most important implication of our results is to suggest a relation between panic disorder and low levels of IFN-γ, compatible with the results of the animal studies showing that IFN-γ plays a role by acting to regulate the development of anxiety-like behaviors.
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