Comparison of Bipolar Disorder Patients with Healthy Controls in terms of Inflammatory Biomarkers

Aim: Inflammatory changes occur in various episodes of Bipolar Disorder (BD) Type 1. These changes can be considered as peripheral symptoms of the disorder. In this study, we aimed to compare the BD patients in the manic, depressive and euthymic period with respect to healthy control group and inflammatory biomarkers. Method: Interleukins (IL) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) values were measured and compared in 78 healthy controls and 108 patients with BD. Results: In the subgroup of mania, the rate of psychiatric hospitalization was higher compared to the subgroups of depression or subgroup (p=0.041). When the blood values of peripheral biomarkers (IL-2, IL-4, IL-8, IL-10 and TNFα) were compared, there was no statistically significant difference between the three subgroups of BD (mania, depression and euthymic) and healthy control group (p>0.05). Conclusions: There was no significant difference between the control group and the BD subgroups in terms of IL and TNF levels. Further studies are needed to clarify the issue