The ratio of serum proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in women with alcohol dependence and depressive disorders

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine neuroimmunological characteristics of the development of alcohol dependence accompanied by depressive disorders in women. For this purpose, serum concentrations of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and cortisol as an indicator of stress intensity were compared in women with alcohol dependence, depressive disorders, and their combination.
Methods. Patients underwent a clinical examination, study groups were formed, and a bank of biological material was created at the Department of Affective Disorders, the Department of Addictive States, and the Laboratory of Clinical Psychoneuroimmunology and Neurobiology of the Research Institute of Mental Health of the Tomsk Scientific Research Center. The diagnosis was clinically verified by psychiatrists and narcologists in accordance with the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10). Blood serum tests were performed for 58 women aged 40-55 years with the following ICD-10 diagnoses: a depressive episode (n=16), dysthymia (n=9), recurrent depressive disorder (n=10), alcohol dependence (n=15), and alcohol dependence in combination with depression (n=8). The control group of sex- and age-matched without apparent disease healthy people consisted of 31 women who were undergoing a routine annual medical examination. Concentrations of IL-1b, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, and cortisol were measured by the enzyme immunoassay with test systems manufactured by Cytokine LLC (St. Petersburg) and DBC Diagnostics Biochem Canada Inc, respectively.
Results. In women with alcohol dependence, proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α) were increased 2.3 and 1.6 times, respectively, compared to the control. The combination of alcohol dependence with depression was associated with a more pronounced increase in IL-1β and IL-6 compared to the control and the group of women with alcohol dependence without somatic pathology. In all examined groups, serum cortisol was higher than in the control group of women without apparent disease, which indicated dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in alcohol dependence, depressive disorders, and in presence of stress factors (alcohol withdrawal, hospitalization).
Conclusion. Alcohol dependence and depressive disorders are mutually aggravating conditions, and their combination is an unfavorable prognostic sign for both of them. A high concentration of IL-6 can be considered as a possible neuroimmune biomarker for the combination of alcohol dependence and depression and can also be used in personalized prevention and treatment of this pathology.