Browsing by Author "Moodley, Allegra"

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    Investigating inflammation in neuropsychiatric disorders
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Moodley, Allegra; Hemmings, S. M. J.; Swart, P. C.; Womersley, J. S.; Seedat, S; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicina and Health Sciences. Dept. of Psychiatry.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Chronic systemic inflammation, characterised by the elevated production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, has been implicated in the pathophysiology and severity of neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs), such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and schizophrenia (SCZ). However, the exact role pro-inflammatory cytokines play in NPDs has yet to be fully established, with several studies reporting inconsistent findings. The current study aimed to measure the association between levels of interferon gamma (IFN), interleukin one beta (IL-1), interleukin six (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF) and C-reactive protein (CRP), and PTSD, PD and SCZ. Serum samples were previously collected as part of a parent cohort study (SHARED ROOTS Flagship Project). Diagnoses of PTSD, PD and SCZ were made by clinicians and assessed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5th edition (DSM-5) for PTSD and PD. Severity of the disorders were evaluated using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) for PTSD, the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) for PD and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for SCZ. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, IFN, IL-1, IL-6, TNF and CRP were measured in serum samples of participants (PTSD cohort: 139 cases, 179 controls; PD cohort: 46 cases, 21 controls; 31 SCZ cohort: 18 first-episode cases, 13 chronic cases, 39 controls) using multiplex and immunoturbidimetric assays. Statistically significant lower levels of IL-1 were found to be associated with PTSD status after controlling for age, smoking and metabolic syndrome (OR = 0.24; p = 0.0146), whilst PD status was associated with statistically significant elevated levels of IL-6 (OR = 34.97; p = 0.0254) and lower levels of CRP (OR = 0.57; p = 0.0401), after adjusting for sex. Increased levels of TNF were significantly associated with chronic SCZ diagnosis after controlling for metabolic syndrome (OR = 5.52; p = 0.0218). The findings observed in this study contributes to the evidence that immune processes are dysregulated in NPDs, however future studies are required to provide further insight into the relationship between pro-inflammatory markers and NPDs.