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Endres D, Rauer S, Venhoff N, Süß P, Dersch R, Runge K, Fiebich BL, Nickel K, Matysik M, Maier S, Domschke K, Egger K, Prüss H, van Elst LT. Probable Autoimmune Depression in a Patient With Multiple Sclerosis and Antineuronal Antibodies. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:745. [PMID: 32922313 PMCID: PMC7457046 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In a subgroup of patients with mood disorders, clear-cut organic disorders are responsible for depressive symptoms (e.g., autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis or systemic lupus erythematosus). In these cases, an organic affective disorder can be diagnosed. CASE PRESENTATION The authors present the case of a 59-year-old male patient who developed a severe depressive episode over approximately 6 months and was, therefore, admitted to the hospital. In retrospect, he reported that, at age 39, he suffered from self-limiting sensory disturbances and muscle weakness in both legs. The current magnetic resonance imaging of his brain showed several conspicuous FLAIR-hyperintense supratentorial white matter lesions compatible with chronic inflammatory brain disease. Imaging of the spinal axis revealed no clear spinal lesions. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analyses showed CSF-specific oligoclonal bands. Therefore, multiple sclerosis was diagnosed. Further CSF analyses, using tissue-based assays with indirect immunofluorescence on unfixed murine brain tissue, revealed a (peri-)nuclear signal and a strong neuritic signal of many neurons, especially on granule cells in the cerebellum, hippocampus, and olfactory bulb, as well as in the corpus callosum. Additionally, antinuclear antibody (ANA) titers of 1:12,800 and a lymphopenia were detected in blood tests. Further system clarification showed no suspicion of rheumatic or oncological disease. Anti-inflammatory treatment led to rapid and sustained improvement. CONCLUSION The present patient suffered from a probable "autoimmune depression" in the context of newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis with typical MRI and CSF pathologies, alongside mild concomitant latent systemic autoimmune process (with high-titer ANAs and lymphopenia) and unknown antineuronal antibodies. The case report illustrates that a depressive syndrome suggestive of primary idiopathic depressive disorder may be associated with an autoimmune brain involvement. The detection of such organic affective disorders is of high clinical relevance for affected patients, as it enables alternative and more causal treatment approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominique Endres
- Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Sebastian Rauer
- Department of Neurology, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Nils Venhoff
- Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Patrick Süß
- Department of Molecular Neurology, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Rick Dersch
- Department of Neurology, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Kimon Runge
- Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Bernd L. Fiebich
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Kathrin Nickel
- Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Miriam Matysik
- Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Simon Maier
- Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Katharina Domschke
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Center for Basics in Neuromodulation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Karl Egger
- Department of Neuroradiology, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Harald Prüss
- Department of Neurology and Experimental Neurology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Berlin, Germany
| | - Ludger Tebartz van Elst
- Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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Grygiel-Górniak B, Limphaibool N, Puszczewicz M. Cytokine secretion and the risk of depression development in patients with connective tissue diseases. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2019; 73:302-316. [PMID: 30719813 DOI: 10.1111/pcn.12826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2018] [Revised: 01/16/2019] [Accepted: 02/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Research in the past two decades has revolutionized our understanding of depressive illnesses. Proinflammatory cytokines have become a point of interest in the interconnecting areas of neuropsychiatric and autoimmune diseases. The cytokine hypothesis of depression suggests that pro-inflammatory cytokines play a primary role in the mediation of the pathophysiological characteristics of major depression, in which an inflammatory process may be induced by external and internal stressors, such as psychological and inflammatory diseases, respectively. The higher prevalence of depression, particularly in patients with chronic autoimmune connective tissue disorders (CTD), suggests that depression may present a dysfunctional adaptation of cytokine-induced sickness, which could manifest in times of an exacerbated activation of the innate immune system. Inflammation is thought to contribute to the development of clinical depression through its ability to induce sickness behaviors corresponding to the neurovegetative features of depression, through the dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, alterations in neurotransmitter synthesis and reuptake, and through its involvement in the neuroprogression pathways. This review explores the complex interrelationships in which inflammatory responses alter neuroendocrine and neuropsychological regulation contributing to depressive symptoms in CTD. The prevalence and characteristics of depression, and its correlation to the levels of inflammatory cytokines and disease activity among different CTD will be reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bogna Grygiel-Górniak
- Department of Rheumatology and Internal Diseases, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
| | - Nattakarn Limphaibool
- Department of Rheumatology and Internal Diseases, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
| | - Mariusz Puszczewicz
- Department of Rheumatology and Internal Diseases, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
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