How inflammation influences psychiatric disease

Recent studies highlight the strong correlation between infectious diseases and the development of neuropsychiatric disorders.In this editorial,we comment on the article“Anti-infective therapy durations predict psychological stress and laparoscopic surgery quality in pelvic abscess patients”by Zhang et al,published in the recent issue of the World Journal of Psychiatry 2023;13(11):903-911.Our discussion highlighted the potential consequences of anxiety,depression,and psychosis,which are all linked to bacterial,fungal,and viral infections,which are relevant to the impact of inflammation on the sequelae in mental health as those we are observing after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.We focus specifically on the immune mechanisms triggered by inflammation,the primary contributor to psychiatric complications.Importantly,pathophysiological mechanisms such as organ damage,post-injury inflammation,and infectioninduced endocrine alterations,including hypocortisolism or autoantibody formation,significantly contribute to the development of chronic low-grade inflammation,promoting the emergence or development of psychiatric alterations in susceptible individuals.As inflammation can have long-term effects on patients,a multidisciplinary treatment plan can avoid complications and debilitating health issues,and it is crucial to recognize and address the mental health implications.

Serum levels of chemokines in adolescents with major depression treated with fluoxetine

BACKGROUND Major depressive disorder(MDD)is a global health issue that affects 350 million people of all ages.Although between 2%and 5.6%of affected individuals are adolescents,research on young patients is limited.The inflammatory response contributes to the onset of depression,and in adult MDD patients,symptom severity has been linked to chemokine levels.AIM To determine the differences in circulatory levels of chemokines in healthy volunteers(HVs)and adolescents with MDD,and assess the changes induced by fluoxetine consume.METHODS The 22 adolescents with MDD were monitored during the first 8 wk of clinical follow-up and clinical psychiatric evaluation was done using the Hamilton depresión rating scale(HDRS).The serum levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1),macrophage inflammatory protein(MIP)-1α,MIP-1β,interleukin(IL)-8,interferon gamma-induced protein(IP)-10,and eotaxin were measured in patients and HVs.RESULTS In all cases,significant differences were detected in circulating chemokine levels between patients before treatment and HVs(P<0.0001).All chemokines decreased at 4 wk,but only MCP-1 and IL-8 significantly differed(P<0.05)between 0 wk and 4 wk.In the patients,all chemokines rose to their initial concentrations by 8 wk vs 0 wk,but only IP-10 did so significantly(P<0.05).All patients experienced a significant decrease in HDRS scores at 4 wk(P<0.0001)and 8 wk(P<0.0001)compared with 0 wk.CONCLUSION Despite the consumption of fluoxetine,patients had significantly higher chemokine levels,even after considering the improvement in HDRS score.The high levels of eotaxin,IP-10,and IL-8 partially explain certain aspects that are affected in MDD such as cognition,memory,and learning.