Cytokine has been postulated to play a role in the pathogenesis of post-menopausal osteoporosis. To test this hypothesis we measured circulating levels of IL-1, IL-6,IL-8 and TNF-alpha in 98 post-menopausal women (30 age matched normal and 68 osteoporotic) with no vertebral fractures. Although the cytokine levels of patients were found in normal cut off values, the difference in cytokine levels between patients and controls was statistically significant for IL-1 and IL-8 (p < 0.01). In osteoporotic patients, none of the cytokines correlated with lumbar, femoral (neck) and total hip bone mineral densities and also with body mass index (p > 0.01). In conclusion, we were unable to demonstrate abnormalities of cytokines affecting bone resorption in peripheral serum of women with post-menopausal osteoporosis. However increased production of these cytokines may occur in the local environment of bone.
Bone Resorption ; metabolism ; Case-Control Studies ; Cytokines ; blood ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal ; metabolism ; Postmenopause ; physiology

OBJECTIVE: Citalopram (CITA) is a widely used and well-tolerated selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible influences of serum concentrations of CITA and its major metabolite n-desmethylcitalopram (NDCITA) on the efficacy and tolerability of CITA in patients with major depressive disorder. METHODS: The study included 46 outpatients with major depressive disorder who received CITA. The efficacy and tolerability were assessed for 6 weeks. Serum CITA and NDCITA levels were measured at the 4th week. RESULTS: The HDRS17 total scores of the patients with high NDCITA and CITA & NDCITA concentrations showed a more significant reduction compared to the patients with expected and low serum NDCITA and CITA & NDCITA concentrations. However, we did not observe a correlation between the serum concentrations and the side effects of CITA, NDCITA, and CITA & NDCITA. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested the potential contribution of NDCITA to the antidepressant effect of CITA. Further studies involving larger clinical samples are required to confirm the impact of serum NDCITA concentrations on the efficacy of CITA.
Citalopram* ; Depression* ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Humans ; Outpatients ; Serotonin