• Miri Cohen, Tamar Meir, Ehud Klein, Gershon Volpin, Michael Assaf, and Shimon Pollack.
• Western Galilee Hospital, Israel. cohenm@research.haifa.ac.il
• Int J Psychiatry Med. 2011 Jan 1;42(2):117-31.

BackgroundTraumatic injuries are usually associated with increased secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and are sometimes followed by the development of acute stress symptoms (ASS) and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS).AimsTo measure serum pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in accident casualties and to associate it with ASS at hospitalization, and with PTSS 1 month later.MethodsParticipants were 48 patients, aged 20-60, hospitalized following various orthopedic injuries including bone fractures, and 13 healthy volunteers matched for gender. At hospitalization (Time 1), 30 ml heparinized venous blood were drawn and cytokines levels in serum were assessed; participants filled out the Acute Stress Disorder Inventory (ASDI), COPE, and injury-related questionnaires. One month later (Time 2), 26 participants filled out the Posttraumatic Disorder Symptom Scale (PDS).ResultsHigh serum levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TGF-beta and low levels of serum IL-4 and IL-10 were found in injured patients as compared with controls, When controlling for age and severity of injury in the regression analysis, higher levels of IL-6 and IL-8 and lower TGF-beta were predicted by higher ASS and higher use of and emotion-focused coping. Higher PTSS scores at Time 2 were predicted by higher levels of IL-8, lower levels of TGF-beta, and higher ASS measured at Time 1.ConclusionsHigh levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 and IL-8 and lower levels of the regulatory cytokine TGF-beta should be further assessed as a possible risk factor or a bio-marker of PTSS in accident casualties.

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