Can Lupus Cause Mental Illness?

Cytokines is an umbrella term for a number of mediators used by cells to communicate among themselves; they can be both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory. Many cytokines have been found to be elevated in the brain while a patient has lupus. These cytokines have shown to alter the way neurons connect to each other, disrupting the synapses and other brain structures.

The theory of the involvement of cytokines have been further strengthened by the successful demonstration of the effectiveness of monoclonal antibodies in preventing many neuropsychiatric conditions in the animal models.