• Ru-Band Lu, Tzu-Yun Wang, Sheng-Yu Lee, Shiou-Lan Chen, Yun-Hsuan Chang, See Chen Po P Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 138 Sheng-Li Road, Tainan 70428, Tai, Shih-Hsien Lin, Chun-Hsien Chu, San-Yuan Huang, Nian-Sheng Tzeng, I Hui Lee, Chin Chen Kao K Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 138 Sheng-Li Road, Tainan 70428, T, Kuang Yang Yen Y Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 138 Sheng-Li Road, Tainan 70428, , Ping Chen, Shih-Heng Chen, and Jau-Shyong Hong.
• Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 138 Sheng-Li Road, Tainan 70428, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, No.1, University Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan; The Affiliated Kangning Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou City Sheng Jin Road No. 1 Huanglong residential area, China; Beijing YiNing Hospital, No.9 Minzhuang Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100195, China; Center for Neuropsychiatric Research, National Health Research Institutes, 35 Keyan Road, Zhunan, Miaoli County 35053, Taiwan.
• Drug Alcohol Depend. 2019 Nov 1; 204: 107516.

BackgroundThe outcome of methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) varies in each patient with opioid use disorder (OUD). Opioid abuse activates proinflammatory processes by increasing cytokine production and impairing neurotrophic factor expression, and possibly leads to a vicious cycle that hinders recovery. Therefore, we investigated whether markers of inflammation and neurotrophic expression correlate with the MMT outcomes in OUD patients.MethodWe investigated OUD patients undergoing MMT and followed them up for 12 weeks. We measured plasma tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), urinary morphine tests, and plasma morphine levels at baseline and on weeks 1, 4, 8, and 12 during MMT. Multiple linear regressions and generalized estimating equations (GEEs) were used to examine the correlation between the cytokine and BDNF levels and MMT outcomes.ResultsWe initially enrolled 104 patients, but only 78 patients completed end-of-study assessments. Plasma levels of CRP, TGF-β1, and BDNF fell during MMT. Plasma IL-6 levels were significantly associated with plasma morphine levels (P = 0.005) and urinary morphine-positive (+) results (P = 0.04), and significantly associated with poor compliance (P = 0.009) and early dropout from MMT (P = 0.001). However, other cytokine and BDNF levels were not consistently associated with MMT outcomes.ConclusionHigher IL-6 levels were associated with poor MMT outcomes. Additional studies on regulating IL-6 expression to improve treatment outcomes in OUD patients might be warranted.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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