Health Sciences PhD program, Universidad Católica de Murcia UCAM, Murcia, Spain.
Chair of Psychogeriatrics, Department of Health Sciences, Universidad Católica de Murcia UCAM, Murcia, Spain.
Brain Behav. 2022 Jun;12(6):e2624. doi: 10.1002/brb3.2624. Epub 2022 May 19.
Chronic exposure to stress is a major risk factor in anxiety disorders (ADs) and can be accompanied by an altered microbiome-gut-brain axis and a compromised immune system. In recent years, the study of inflammatory processes in AD has gained special attention. Continued stress causes the reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the alteration of the intestinal microbiota and the consequent release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, affecting the sensitivity to stress and the similar behavior of anxiety.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the interrelationships between measures of proinflammatory cytokines and cortisol in patients with panic disorder (PD).
The main results of the correlation analysis revealed that the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-12, and tumor necrosis factor gamma were negatively correlated with cortisol scores (area under the curve with respect to the ground).
These results suggest that the inflammatory response is associated with the reactivity of the HPA axis in patients with PD and may influence the maintenance of anxiety behavior.
慢性暴露于压力是焦虑症（AD）的一个主要风险因素，并且可能伴随着微生物群-肠道-大脑轴的改变和免疫系统受损。近年来，AD 中炎症过程的研究受到了特别关注。持续的压力会导致下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴的反应性、肠道微生物群的改变以及促炎细胞因子的释放，从而影响对压力的敏感性和类似的焦虑行为。
本研究旨在评估惊恐障碍（PD）患者中促炎细胞因子和皮质醇之间的相互关系。
相关分析的主要结果表明，促炎细胞因子白细胞介素（IL）-1β、IL-12 和肿瘤坏死因子γ的水平与皮质醇评分呈负相关（与地面相关的曲线下面积）。
这些结果表明，炎症反应与 PD 患者 HPA 轴的反应性有关，可能影响焦虑行为的维持。
