Use of the flu vaccine opens the door to studying associations between inflammation, depression, and cognitive impairments.

Author: Johnson JD.

Source: Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

Year: 2018

Comment:

Abstract / Excerpt:

The current paper published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity by Kuhlman and colleagues demonstrate that even mild inflammatory responses following vaccination with the influenza vaccine are sufficient to induce depressed mood and cognitive impairments in healthy young adults (Kuhlman et al., 2018).  The authors found that following vaccination participants demonstrated changes of varying magnitude in serum IL-6 levels measured pre- and 1 day post-vaccination, and that larger increases in circulating IL-6 were associated with greater mood disturbances and cognitive symptoms.  Changes in mood and cognitive function were measured the week prior to and the week after vaccination by the analysis of daily diaries that consisted of the 15-item Profile of Mood States (POMS-15) and 3-item POMS-Confusion subscale (inability to concentrate, forgetfulness, and confusion).

Citation: Johnson JD. Use of the flu vaccine opens the door to studying associations between inflammation, depression, and cognitive impairments. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2018.