Objective: The goal of the research was to verify the possible association between the levels of inflammatory factors and frontal deficits in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), the most common atypical parkinsonism.

Background: PSP is a clinical entity linked with oculomotor dysfunction, postural instability, akinesia and language/cognitive impairment. Patients affected by the disease suffer due to frontal deficits. PSP varies in the context of clinical manifestations, the two major subtypes – PSP – Richardson’s Syndrome (PSP-RS) and PSP-Parkinsonism Predominant (PSP-P) significantly differ in the context of clinical course. Moreover, the patomechanism of the disease and its evolution into certain subtypes is not recognized.

Method: The levels of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid were assessed using samples from 12 patients with clinical diagnosis of PSP-RS, 12 patients with clinical diagnosis of PSP-P and 12 healthy controls. The patients were neuropsychologically evaluated using Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). The analysis results were statistically through GraphPad Prisma 8 software. Correlations were evaluated using Pearson’s coefficient.

Results: The study revealed the negative correlation between the level of IL-1 in the serum and results of FAB in PSP-P. (r=-0,64). The levels of IL-1 and IL-6 in the cerebrospinal fluid of PSP patients (without indicating subtypes) was found to be positively correlated with the results of FAB (IL-1 – r=0,49 / IL-6 – r=0,47). No other correlations were detected in the analysis of levels of interleukins and FAB among patients with PSP.

Conclusion: The inflammatory mechanisms may play a role in the evolution of frontal deficits in PSP. The levels of interleukins though possibly associated with clinical manifestation, may be impacted by other co-existing features. The work shows preliminary results, however suggests the necessity for further evaluations of interleukin profile of PSP subtypes. Additional evaluation may indicate possible binding points of future treatments. More research in the field is required.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-links-between-frontal-deficits-and-levels-of-inflammatory-parameters-in-progressive-supranuclear-palsy/