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. 2013 Nov 14;8(11):e81911.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0081911. eCollection 2013.

Increased basal and alum-induced interleukin-6 levels in geriatric patients are associated with cardiovascular morbidity

Nathalie Compté  1 , Karim Zouaoui Boudjeltia, Michel Vanhaeverbeek, Sandra De Breucker, Thierry Pepersack, Joel Tassignon, Anne Trelcat, Stanislas Goriely
Affiliations

Increased basal and alum-induced interleukin-6 levels in geriatric patients are associated with cardiovascular morbidity

Nathalie Compté et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background/aim of the study: Low-grade systemic inflammation was suggested to participate to the decline of physiological functions and increased vulnerability encountered in older patients. Geriatric syndromes encompass various features such as functional dependence, polymorbidity, depression and malnutrition. There is a strong prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and related risk factors and chronic cytomegalovirus infections in the geriatric population. As these underlying conditions were proposed to influence the inflammatory state, the aim of this study was to assess their potential contribution to the association of geriatric syndromes with inflammatory parameters.

Methodology: We recruited 100 subjects in the general population or hospitalized for chronic medical conditions (age, 23-96 years). We collected information on clinical status (medical history, ongoing comorbidities, treatments and geriatric scales), biological parameters (hematological tests, cytomegalovirus serology) and cytokines production (basal and alum-induced interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 levels). Using stepwise backward multivariate analyses, we defined which set of clinical and biological variables could be predictive for increased inflammatory markers.

Principal findings: We confirmed the age-associated increase of circulating IL-6 levels. In contrast to geriatric scales, we found history of cardiovascular diseases to be strongly associated for this parameter as for high IL-6 production upon ex vivo stimulation with alum.

Conclusions: Association between low-grade inflammation and geriatric conditions could be linked to underlying cardiovascular diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The study was partly supported GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals. Authors JT and AT are employed by ImmuneHealth, Charleroi, Belgium. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials, as detailed online in the guide for authors.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Inflammatory markers in individuals with ISAR
≤1 and >1 point. (A) Plasmatic IL-6 levels were analyzed by ELISA. (B-C) Whole blood samples were incubated with alum (500µg/ml) for 18h. Cell-free supernatants were collected and analyzed for IL-6 and IL-1β levels by ELISA. ISAR>1 point, n=27; ISAR≤1 point, n=25. For statistical analysis, we used the Mann-Whitney rank sum test *p<0.05; **p<0.01.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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