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Bernardoni F, Tam F, Poitz DM, Hellerhoff I, Arold D, Geisler D, Lemme F, Keeler J, Weidner K, Pariante C, Roessner V, King JA, Ehrlich S. Effect of serum concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-α on brain structure in anorexia nervosa: a combined cross-sectional and longitudinal study. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:1509-1517. [PMID: 38461330 PMCID: PMC11319803 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01836-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 02/10/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/11/2024]
Abstract
Previous studies of brain structure in anorexia nervosa (AN) have reported reduced gray matter in underweight patients, which largely normalizes upon weight gain. One underlying biological mechanism may be glial cell alterations related to low-grade inflammation. Here, we investigated relationships between brain structure as measured by magnetic resonance imaging and serum concentrations of two pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha) cross-sectionally in 82 underweight adolescent and young adult female patients (mean age 16.8 years; 59 of whom were observed longitudinally after short-term weight restoration; mean duration 2.8 months), 20 individuals long-term weight-recovered from AN (mean age 22.7 years) and 105 healthy control (HC) participants (mean age 17.2 years). We measured cortical thickness, subcortical volumes and local gyrification index, a measure of cortical folding. In contrast to most previous studies of cytokine concentrations in AN, we found no cross-sectional group differences (interleukin-6: p = 0.193, tumor necrosis factor alpha: p = 0.057) or longitudinal changes following weight restoration (interleukin-6: p = 0.201, tumor necrosis factor alpha: p = 0.772). As expected, widespread gray matter reductions (cortical thickness, subcortical volumes, cortical folding) were observed in underweight patients with AN compared to HC. However, we found no evidence of associations between cytokine concentrations and structural brain measures in any participant group. Furthermore, longitudinal changes in cytokine concentrations were unrelated to changes in gray matter. In conclusion, we did not identify any association between (sub-)inflammatory processes and structural brain changes in AN. Future studies are needed to elucidate which other factors besides nutritional status may contribute to brain morphological alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Bernardoni
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Friederike Tam
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Eating Disorder Research and Treatment Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - David M Poitz
- University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Inger Hellerhoff
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Eating Disorder Research and Treatment Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Dominic Arold
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Daniel Geisler
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Frances Lemme
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Johanna Keeler
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Kerstin Weidner
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Carmine Pariante
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Veit Roessner
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Joseph A King
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Stefan Ehrlich
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
- Eating Disorder Research and Treatment Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
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Brooks SJ, Dahl K, Dudley-Jones R, Schiöth HB. A neuroinflammatory compulsivity model of anorexia nervosa (NICAN). Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 159:105580. [PMID: 38417395 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- S J Brooks
- Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden; School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, UK; Neuroscience Research Laboratory (NeuRL), Department of Psychology, School of Human and Community Development, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
| | - K Dahl
- Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden
| | - R Dudley-Jones
- School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
| | - H B Schiöth
- Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden
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