Department of Psychiatry, University Psychiatric Center Duffel, Duffel, Belgium,
Department of Psychiatry, Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute (CAPRI), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium,
Neuropsychobiology. 2020;79(3):222-232. doi: 10.1159/000506133. Epub 2020 Feb 28.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) influences the concentration of peripheral inflammatory markers, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). In which way this immune effect contributes to the impact of ECT on the central nervous system in depression remains unknown.
The aim of this study was to examine whether the hippocampal volumetric increase in depressed patients treated with ECT is related to changes in peripheral IL-6 and TNF-α levels.
IL-6 and TNF-α plasma levels were measured in 62 patients 1 week before and after an acute course of ECT. Hippocampal volumes were analyzed in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) subsample of 13 patients at the same time points.
A significant decrease in IL-6 levels was observed in the total sample and a significant increase in hippocampal volume in the MRI subsample. The reduction of peripheral IL-6 correlated with an increase in total hippocampal volume. A more limited decrease of TNF-α correlated with a more limited increase of both the total and left hippocampus volumes.
This pilot study is the first to highlight the link between peripheral immune changes and hippocampal volume increase following ECT. Further research is required to conclude whether ECT indeed exerts its central effect on the brain via changes of peripheral inflammatory markers.
电抽搐治疗（ECT）会影响外周炎性标志物的浓度，如白细胞介素-6（IL-6）和肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）。然而，这种免疫效应如何影响抑郁症患者的中枢神经系统仍不清楚。
本研究旨在探讨接受 ECT 治疗的抑郁症患者海马体积增加是否与外周 IL-6 和 TNF-α 水平的变化有关。
在急性 ECT 疗程前后，我们对 62 名患者的 IL-6 和 TNF-α 血浆水平进行了测量。在同一时间点，对 13 名患者的磁共振成像（MRI）子样本进行了海马体积分析。
在总样本中观察到外周 IL-6 水平显著下降，MRI 子样本中海马体积显著增加。外周 IL-6 的减少与总海马体积的增加相关。TNF-α 的减少与总海马体积和左侧海马体积的增加更有限相关。
这项初步研究首次强调了 ECT 后外周免疫变化与海马体积增加之间的联系。需要进一步的研究来确定 ECT 是否确实通过外周炎性标志物的变化对大脑产生中枢作用。
