PLASMA INTERLEUKIN-1-BETA AND SLEEP ARCHITECTURE IN SCHIZOPHRENIA ANDOTHER NONAFFECTIVE PSYCHOSES

Objective: It has been reported that sleep deprivation may enhance int erleukin (IL)-1 beta production of healthy subjects. Furthermore, pati ents with acute psychoses have been reported to exhibit higher levels of IL-1 beta than healthy controls. The present study examined polysom nographic sleep and morning IL-1 beta plasma values in 20 drug-free pa tients with acute nonaffective psychoses. Methods: Ten patients with D SM-III diagnosis of schizophrenia, five with delusional disorder, and five with atypical psychosis underwent polysomnographic sleep registra tions and their morning blood levels of IL-1 beta were measured. Resul ts: IL-1 beta values correlated negatively with the length of the slee p period (p = 0.010) and the relative time of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (p = 0.038), and positively with REM latency (p = 0.043). Concl usions: It is concluded that reduced sleep, possibly especially reduce d REM sleep, may be a reason for increased morning IL-1 beta values in these patients. Additional studies on IL-1 beta in psychiatric patien ts should consider the possibility of sleep disturbances as a possible explanation for deviations in IL-1 beta levels.