Balance of cytokines in patients with severe head injury

Dynamic study of the blood levels of cytokines (interleukins IL-1β, IL-6, IL-1O and TNFalfa) was carried out in 40 patients with different outcomes of acute severe head injury. It was shown that severe head trauma resulted in the disbalance of pro- and antiinflammatory cytokines. During the first 24 hours, the direction of pathologic shifts did not differ between different patient groups and was characterized by the increase in IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10 concentrations. By week 3, the decrease in concentrations of both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines was found in patients who had been discharged from the hospital for ambulant therapy. In cases of fatal outcome, deterioration of general condition of patients was combined with the decrease in IL-1β  concentration and the considerable increase in IL-6 and IL-10 concentrations, which may be regarded as one of unfavorable prognostic signs of head injury.