DISTRIBUCIÓN DE LA INTERLEUCINA 6 Y EL FACTOR DE NECROSIS TUMORAL ALFA EN LAS NEUMOPATÍAS INTERSTICIALES

OBJECTIVE: the aim of this study is to establish whether the interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) serum levels are different among diverse interstitial lung diseases (ILD). METHOD: a prospective, observational, analytical study was performed in which a group of consecutive patients affected with a variety of interstitial diseases was evaluated between 1998 and 2000. Participants in the study were clinically evaluated at the beginning of the study, and IL-6 and TNF-a were established in blood samples using radioimmunoassay in order to compare the serum levels among the different clinical entities. RESULTS: 93 patients were included in the study, 60 (64.5%) men and 33 (35.5%) women, with an average age of 59 ± 16 years. Mean values were 25.37 ± 32.17 pgr for TNF-a and 36.37 ± 127.18 pgr for IL-6. TNF-a levels were significantly different among diseases (p < 0,001), whereas IL-6 levels weren’t so (p = 0.857). CONCLUSIONS: the values of the cytokines in the serum of patients with ILD are important since they have a different distribution among the different diseases. More studies are needed in order to establish its role in the diagnosis and prognosis of these diseases.