Citation

Serafini G, Pompili M, Elena Seretti M, Stefani H, Palermo M, Coryell W, Girardi P. Eur. Neuropsychopharmacol. 2013; 23(12): 1672-1686.

Affiliation

Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs-Suicide Prevention Center, Sapienza University of Rome, Sant'Andrea Hospital, 1035-1039 Via di Grottarossa, Rome 00189, Italy. Electronic address: gianluca.serafini@uniroma1.it.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.euroneuro.2013.06.002

PMID

23896009

Abstract

There is growing evidence that inflammatory mediators play a critical role in the pathophysiology of both major depression and suicidal behavior. Immunological differences have been reported in both major affective disorders and suicidal behavior. Specifically, increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines have been shown to correlate with the severity of depression and various cytokines have been identified as potentially important in understanding the pathophysiology of major affective disorders/suicidality. We aimed to conduct a systematic review of the current literature to investigate the association between inflammatory cytokines and suicidal behavior. Only articles from peer-reviewed journals were selected for inclusion in the present review. Most studies documented the association between suicidality and IL2, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and VEGF levels that have been found altered in suicidal behavior. The presence of major depressive disorder (MDD) with suicidal ideation/attempts was associated with differences in inflammatory cytokine profile when compared to that without suicidal ideation/attempts. Most suicide attempters or subjects with suicidal ideation showed an imbalance of the immune system but this does not imply the existence of a causal link. Also, not all studies demonstrated a positive correlation between inflammatory cytokines and suicidal behavior. Further additional studies should elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the immune activation pathways underlying suicidality.

Language: en