Relationship Between Levels of Inflammatory Markers and Severity of Mania

BACKGROUND: Mood disorders is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Inflammatory system is hypothesised to play a key role in various neuropsychiatric disorders. Potential deleterious effects of inflammation are alterations in mood, sleep, energy, cognition and motivation all of which are also incidentally described as the symptoms of mood disorders. The cytokines produced during the inflammatory response serve as excellent biomarkers when investigating the potential relationship between inflammation and mood disorders. AIM: The aim of present study was to see the correlation between levels of inflammatory markers and severity of mania and compare these levels with healthy controls. METHOD: 30 patients of BPAD current episode mania with psychotic symptoms and 30 healthy controls were selected. The patients were assessed using the YMRS for symptom severity at baseline and remission. Blood samples were collected on the day of admission and then at remission. Plasma levels of IL-1 Receptor Antagonist (IL-1 RA), Soluble TNF Receptor 1 (sTNFR1), High Sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) were estimated using ELISA. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The study revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in levels of IL1RA at baseline between patients and healthy controls. Statistically significant difference was also found in sTNFR1 between patient with acute mania and healthy controls. There was significant correlation between sTNFR1 and YMRS at remission and also between hs-CRP and YMRS at remission in patients.