Immunological changes in patients with mania: changes in cell mediated immunity in a sample from Egyptian patients.
Author: Abeer, El Sayed A, Ramy HA.
Source:
The Egyptian journal of immunology, 13(1), 79-85.
The immune system and its relation to psychiatric disorders has attracted many
investigators, but there is still great controversy about the extent of
immunological changes associated with different psychiatric disorders. Bipolar
disorder is the least studied among the three major psychiatric disorders:
schizophrenia, major depression and bipolar disorder. The current study was
conducted on 20 patients with mania in comparison to 20 healthy controls, to
evaluate changes in percentage of lymphocytes, active T-lymphocytes and natural
killer (NK) cells. We found a significant decrease in the percentage of
lymphocytes in mania patients as compared to controls. Assessment of Active T.
lymphocyte (HLADR+) and NK cell (CD56+) by flowcytometry using a battery of
paired (FITC and PE) monoclonal antibodies, revealed significant decrease in NK
cells (P < 0.001), while no significant difference was found between patients and
controls as regards percentage of active T lymphocytes. It is concluded that the
immune response is altered in manic patients. However, further studies on large
number of cases using various immunological parameters related to CMI are needed
to confirm these findings.