Inflammatory Marker NF-kB Elevated in Adolescent Bipolar Disorder

In a poster at the 2014 meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, researcher Larissa Portnoff reported that NF-kB, a marker of inflammation that can be measured in two types of white blood cells (lymphocytes and monocytes), was significantly elevated in adolescents who had bipolar disorder compared to healthy control participants.

Several other inflammatory markers have been linked to bipolar disorder, including c-reactive protein (CRP) and TNF alpha. The new data about NF-kB suggests that another inflammatory pathway is overactive in the disorder. NF-kB levels did not correlate with the severity of manic or depressive symptoms, as do levels of some other inflammatory markers.

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