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Association of circulating TNF‐α and IL‐6 with ageing and parkinsonism
Author(s) -
Dobbs R. J.,
Charlett A.,
Purkiss A. G.,
Dobbs S. M.,
Weller C.,
Peterson D. W.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1999.tb00721.x
Subject(s) - parkinsonism , ageing , association (psychology) , medicine , tumor necrosis factor alpha , interleukin 6 , immunology , gerontology , psychology , cytokine , disease , psychotherapist
‐ We propose that the increase in TNF‐α and IL‐6 in the brain in idiopathic parkinsonism is in response to a peripheral immune/ inflammatory process, so ubiquitous as to be responsible for the resemblance between ageing and parkinsonism. Methods ‐ Circulating cytokine was measured in 78 subjects with idiopathic parkinsonism and 140 without, aged 30 to 90 years, all obeying inclusion/exclusion criteria. Results ‐ Serum TNF‐α increased ( P <0.0001) by 1.37 (95% CI 0.75, 2.00) %‐y ‐1 , IL‐6 by 2.63 (1.75, 3.52) ( P <0.0005). TNF‐α appeared elevated in parkinsonians whose postural and psychomotor responses were abnormal, being suppressed where they were normal: trends which contrasted with those in controls ( P =0.015 and 0.05, respectively). Parkinsonism appeared ( P =0.08) to have an effect on IL‐6, equivalent to that of >10 years of ageing (28(‐3, 69)%), but was not immediately related to between‐subject differences in performance. Conclusion ‐Ageing and pathogenetic insult may be confounded, age being a progression, not a risk, factor.