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TUESDAY, March 13, 2018 (HealthDay News) — For patients with major depressive disorder, interleukin-6 (IL-6) may predict benefit from electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), according to a study published recently in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Jennifer L. Kruse, M.D., from the University of California at Los Angeles, and colleagues examined whether markers of inflammation predicted response to ECT in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor \u03b1, and severity of depression symptoms (Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale [MADRS]) were assessed before ECT treatment, after the second ECT session, and at completion of the index treatment series in 29 patients.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that there was a correlation for higher IL-6 levels at baseline, but not other inflammatory markers or clinical variables, with lower end-of-treatment MADRS score (P = 0.01). IL-6 remained a significant predictor of end-of treatment MADRS for women (P = 0.02), but not men (P = 0.1), when stratified by sex; CRP was a significant predictor for women (P = 0.04), but not men (P = 0.66). There were increases in CRP and IL-6 from baseline to the second ECT session (P < 0.01); levels returned to baseline at the end of treatment. These changes were not associated with MADRS score over the course of ECT.<\/p>\n
“Levels of IL-6 prior to ECT treatment may be useful in identifying those depressed patients most likely to benefit from ECT treatment,” the authors write.<\/p>\n
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