Study on serum cytokine levels in posttraumatic stress disorder patients

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate serum IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TNF-α levels in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients. METHODS: We utilized ELISA technology to examine cytokines such as IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TNF-α in serum from 50 well-characterized individuals with a primary DSM-IV PTSD diagnosis, and 50 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. We conservatively employed a Mann-Whitney U testing. RESULTS: Individuals with primary PTSD had significantly elevated peripheral cytokine levels for all 6 different cytokines compared to age- and gender-matched healthy controls (all P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that a generalized inflammatory state may be present in individuals with PTSD.