RESUMO
Extensive evidence exists associating depression with changes in the immune system. The present study evaluates the levels of complement components C3 and C4, C-reactive proteins, and IL-6 in patients who met DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder, as well as controls. Whereas no significant differences between the mean levels of C3 could be detected between depressed patients and controls, the levels of C4, IL-6 (where detected), and C-reactive protein were significantly raised in the group with a depressive disorder. Our study suggests an interaction between psychological state and immune systems operative in host defenses.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Fase Aguda/metabolismo , Transtorno Depressivo Maior/imunologia , Adulto , Proteína C-Reativa/metabolismo , Complemento C3/metabolismo , Complemento C4/metabolismo , Transtorno Depressivo Maior/diagnóstico , Transtorno Depressivo Maior/psicologia , Feminino , Humanos , Interleucina-6/sangue , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Escalas de Graduação Psiquiátrica , Psiconeuroimunologia , Valores de ReferênciaRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The association between winter birth and increased incidence of schizophrenia is well documented in the northern hemisphere. The present study examined season of birth and schizophrenia in a southern hemisphere population from a mild temperate climate. METHOD: The seasonal incidence of birth in schizophrenic patients was compared, using Chi-squared tests, to normative population birth rates. RESULTS: A statistically significant seasonal pattern, with a peak in late spring and early summer, was obtained. CONCLUSION: This supports northern hemisphere findings regarding calendar month, but not season, of excess schizophrenic births. This has implications for viral and other aetiological hypotheses dependent on meteorological factors.