Tag: interleukin-1

Hair and salivary cortisol in a cohort of women with chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

Hypocortisolism has been found in CFS patients in blood, urine, and saliva. It is unclear if hypocortisolism can also be demonstrated using long-term cortisol measurements, such as cortisol in hair. In addition, the interaction between the HPA axis and the immune system, both expected to play an important role in CFS, is unclear. The objective of the current study was to compare hair and salivary cortisol concentrations in a cohort of female CFS patients to those in healthy controls, and to test the effect of an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (anakinra) on the HPA axis.

Salivary cortisol concentrations of 107 CFS patients were compared to 59 healthy controls, with CFS patients showing a decreased cortisol awakening response (4.2 nmol/L ± 5.4 vs 6.1 nmol/L ± 6.3, p = 0.036). Total cortisol output during the day did not differ significantly in saliva, but there was a trend to lower hair cortisol in a subset of 46 patients compared to 46 controls (3.8 pg/mg ± 2.1 vs 4.3 pg/mg ± 1.8, p = 0.062). After four weeks of treatment with either daily anakinra (100 mg/day) or placebo, there was a slight decrease of hair cortisol concentrations in the anakinra group compared to an increase in the placebo group (p = 0.022). This study confirms the altered dynamics of the HPA axis in a group of CFS patients, and for the first time shows that this might also be present for long-term cortisol measures.

Source: Roerink ME, Roerink SHPP, Skoluda N, van der Schaaf ME, Hermus ARMM, van der Meer JWM, Knoop H, Nater UM. Hair and salivary cortisol in a cohort of women with chronic fatigue syndrome. Horm Behav. 2018 May 25. pii: S0018-506X(17)30569-X. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.05.016. [Epub ahead of print] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29807037

Interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, and soluble interleukin-1 receptor type II secretion in chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a condition that affects women in disproportionate numbers, and that is often exacerbated in the premenstrual period and following physical exertion. The signs and symptoms, which include fatigue, myalgia, and low-grade fever, are similar to those experienced by patients infused with cytokines such as interleukin-1.

The present study was carried out to test the hypotheses that (1) cellular secretion of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), and soluble interleukin-1 receptor type II (IL-1sRII) is abnormal in female CFS patients compared to age- and activity-matched controls; (2) that these abnormalities may be evident only at certain times in the menstrual cycle; and (3) that physical exertion (stepping up and down on a platform for 15 min) may accentuate differences between these groups.

Isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy women, but not CFS patients, exhibited significant menstrual cycle-related differences in IL-1 beta secretion that were related to estradiol and progesterone levels (R2 = 0.65, P < 0.01). IL-1Ra secretion for CFS patients was twofold higher than controls during the follicular phase (P = 0.023), but luteal-phase levels were similar between groups. In both phases of the menstrual cycle, IL-1sRII release was significantly higher for CFS patients compared to controls (P = 0.002). The only changes that might be attributable to exertion occurred in the control subjects during the follicular phase, who exhibited an increase in IL-1 beta secretion 48 hr after the stress (P = 0.020).

These results suggest that an abnormality exists in IL-1 beta secretion in CFS patients that may be related to altered sensitivity to estradiol and progesterone. Furthermore, the increased release of IL-1Ra and sIL-1RII by cells from CFS patients is consistent with the hypothesis that CFS is associated with chronic, low-level activation of the immune system.

 

Source: Cannon JG, Angel JB, Abad LW, Vannier E, Mileno MD, Fagioli L, Wolff SM, Komaroff AL. Interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, and soluble interleukin-1 receptor type II secretion in chronic fatigue syndrome. J Clin Immunol. 1997 May;17(3):253-61. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9168406

 

Nervous system-immune system communication

Abstract:

This essay is based on the premise that certain individuals may have a biologically determined propensity to respond to infection that is manifested by the development of disease such as chronic fatigue syndrome; the sequence of events that leads to this response involves the immune system. Biochemical pathways between the immune and nervous systems are reviewed, and the role of various products in the systemic circulation, including interleukin-1, pituitary hormone, and catecholamines, is highlighted. This premise could be tested by measuring levels of these substances in carefully selected patients and controls.

 

Source: Arnason BG. Nervous system-immune system communication. Rev Infect Dis. 1991 Jan-Feb;13 Suppl 1:S134-7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2020798