The study on the correlation of serum levels of tumor necrosis factor with memory in the patients with chronic insomnia disorder / 中国神经精神疾病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the changes of serum levels of tumor necrosis factors (sTNF-α and sTNF-β) and their soluble receptors (sTNF-R1 and sTNF-R2), and analyze their relationship with sleep quality and memory in patients with chronic insomnia disorder (CID). Methods Forty-four CID patients and 39 normal controls were enrolled. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Nine-Box Maze Test were used to assess the insomnia severity and memory functions, respectively. The serum levels of sTNF-α, sTNF-β, sTNF-R1 and sTNF-R2 were examined using protein-chip technology. Results Compared to the controls, CID patients had significantly higher number of errors in spatial working (Z=5.362, P<0.001) and object recognition memories (Z=3.260, P=0.001) in the Nine-Box Maze. In addition, CIDpatients had higher levels of sTNF-αand sTNF-β (Ps<0.001), and lower levels of sTNF-R1 and sTNF-R2 (Ps<0.001). The Spearmen correlation analysis showed that the levels of sTNF-α and sTNF-β were positively correlated with the scores of PSQI (Ps<0.001), whereas the levels of sTNF-R1 and sTNF-R2 were negatively correlated with the scores of PSQI (Ps<0.001). In the CID patients, sTNF-α levels were positively correlated with the errors in both spatial working (γ= 0.380, P=0.017) and object recognition (γ= 0.349, P= 0.030) memories, whereas sTNF-β levels were only positively correlated with the error in spatial working memory (γ=0.414, P=0.009). The levels of sTNF-R1 and sTNF-R2 were not correlated with memory performance (Ps>0.05). Conclusion CID patients have increased levels of sTNF-αand sTNF- whereas have decreased levels of R1 and R2. The elevated sTNF-α and sTNF-β levels are correlated with memory disorders in CID patients.