A little is known about the relation of plasma cytokines with psychological risk
factors, such as hopelessness, and the severityof depressive symptoms. The present
work studied theeffect of depression onplasma interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and high
sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in 40 subjects. Participants included two
groups; patient group included 20 nonsmoking males (aged 20–40years), recruited
from the psychiatry clinic at Kasr El-Ainy Hospital fulfilling the DSM-IV Axis I
disorders criteria for major depression. Control group included 20 healthy,
nonsmoking males (age matched with no current or past history of psychiatric
disorders). After an overnight fast, blood samples were collected and plasma IL-6, IL-1β, and hsCRP were determined using enzymatic-linked immunosorbent assay
(ELISA), also fasting total cholesterol (TC) and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol
(HDL-C) were estimated on the same day that the BeckDepression Inventory (BDI),
Hopelessness Scale (HS) and full psychiatric sheet were accomplished. The results of
the study showed a significant increase in depressed patients compared to normal
controls as regards mean scores of BDI, HS, IL-1β, IL-6 and hsCRP. There was, also,
a significant increase in both patients withmoderate and severe depression compared
to patients with mild depression asregards mean scores of BDI, IL-1β, IL-6 and
hsCRP. There was, also, a significant difference between patients with mild
hopelessness and those with moderate and severe hopelessness as regards mean
scores of HS, IL-1β, IL-6 and hsCRP.Conclusion: Patients with major depression
revealed high levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and hsCRP. That finding makes such patients more
vulnerable to cerebrovascular accidents, where elevation of plasma cytokines and
inflammatory markers are considered as risk factors for myocardial infarction