The Impact of Coconut Oil and Epigallocatechin Gallate on the Levels of IL-6, Anxiety and Disability in Multiple Sclerosis Patients.

BACKGROUND: Due to the inflammatory nature of multiple sclerosis (MS), interleukin 6 (IL-6) is high in blood levels, and it also increases the levels of anxiety related to functional disability. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) decreases IL-6, which could be enhanced by the anti-inflammatory effect of high ketone bodies after administering coconut oil (both of which are an anxiolytic). Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the impact of coconut oil and EGCG on the levels of IL-6, anxiety and functional disability in patients with MS. METHODS: A pilot study was conducted for four months with 51 MS patients who were randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group received 800 mg of EGCG and 60 mL of coconut oil, and the control group was prescribed a placebo. Both groups followed the same isocaloric Mediterranean diet. State and trait anxiety were determined before and after the study by means of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). In addition, IL-6 in serum was measured using the ELISA technique and functional capacity was determined with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and the body mass index (BMI). RESULTS: State anxiety and functional capacity decreased in the intervention group and IL-6 decreased in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: EGCG and coconut oil improve state anxiety and functional capacity. In addition, a decrease in IL-6 is observed in patients with MS, possibly due to the antioxidant capacity of the Mediterranean diet and its impact on improving BMI.

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Interleukin-15 and interferon-gamma participate in the cross-talk between natural killer and monocytic cells required for tumour necrosis factor production.

We have characterized the lymphocyte subset and the receptor molecules involved in inducing the secretion of TNF by monocytic cells in vitro. The TNF secreted by monocytic cells was measured when they were co-cultured with either resting or IL-15-stimulated lymphocytes, T cells, B cells or natural killer (NK) cells isolated from the peripheral blood of healthy subjects and from the synovial fluid from patients with inflammatory arthropathies. Co-culture with IL-15-activated peripheral blood or synovial fluid lymphocytes induced TNF production by monocytic cells within 24 hours, an effect that was mainly mediated by NK cells. In turn, monocytic cells induced CD69 expression and IFN-gamma production in NK cells, an effect that was mediated mainly by beta2 integrins and membrane-bound IL-15. Furthermore, IFN-gamma increased the production of membrane-bound IL-15 in monocytic cells. Blockade of beta2 integrins and membrane-bound IL-15 inhibited TNF production, whereas TNF synthesis increased in the presence of anti-CD48 and anti-CD244 (2B4) monoclonal antibodies. All these findings suggest that the cross-talk between NK cells and monocytes results in the sustained stimulation of TNF production. This phenomenon might be important in the pathogenesis of conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis in which the synthesis of TNF is enhanced.