BACKGROUND: Several inflammatory cytokines play a key part in the induction of @entity170 . Until now, involvement of the Th2 cytokine @entity22597 ( @entity22597 ) in @entity170 hadn't yet been studied. @entity22597 is a proinflammatory cytokine mediating multiple immune functions, whose involvement in a wide range of diseases, such as @entity483 , @entity29 and @entity706 , is now emerging. Given the important role of @entity22597 in @entity32 , we measured its serum levels in postmenopausal @entity3604 @entity1 . METHODS AND RESULTS: In fifty-six postmenopausal females with @entity170 and 26 healthy controls, bone mineral density (BMD) measurements were performed by using calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) technique, confirmed at the lumbar spine and hip by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Both @entity1 and controls were divided according to age (less or more than 65  years) and disease severity (T-score levels and presence of @entity174 ). Serum @entity22597 levels were measured by ELISA technique. @entity3604 @entity1 exhibited elevated levels of serum @entity22597 compared with healthy controls (43.12        6.97 vs 29.58        6.09  pg/ml; p   <   0.049). @entity22597 expression was higher in over 65  years old @entity1 compared to age-matched controls (45        11.05 vs. 17.92        5.92; p   <   0.01), whereas in younger subjects no statistically significant differences were detected between @entity1 and controls (37.91        6.9 vs 32.08        8.2). No statistically significant differences were found between @entity22597 levels in @entity1 affected by mild (T-score   >   -3) compared to severe (T-score   <   -3) @entity170 (59.17        9.22 vs 37.91        10.52), neither between @entity174 and @entity3604 @entity1 (33.75        9.16 vs 51.25        8.9). CONCLUSIONS: We showed for the first time an increase of @entity22597 serum levels in postmenopausal @entity1 with @entity79 . Although they did not reflect the severity of @entity170 and/or the presence of @entity174 , they clearly correlated with age, as reflected by the higher levels of this cytokine in aged @entity1 .

Increased levels of @entity22597 ( XXXX ) in @entity170 .

@entity3604 :: ('MESH:D058866', 'Disease') :: ['unfractured osteoporotic', 'Osteoporotic', 'osteoporotic'] @entity483 :: ('MESH:D003876', 'Disease') :: ['atopic dermatitis'] @entity32 :: ('MESH:D007249', 'Disease') :: ['inflammation'] @entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['women', 'patients'] @entity706 :: ('MESH:D008223', 'Disease') :: ['cutaneous lymphomas'] @entity174 :: ('MESH:D050723', 'Disease') :: ['fractures', 'fractured'] @entity170 :: ('MESH:D010024', 'Disease') :: ['osteoporosis'] @entity22597 :: ('386653', 'Gene') :: ['interleukin-31', 'IL-31'] @entity29 :: ('MESH:D015212', 'Disease') :: ['inflammatory bowel diseases'] @entity79 :: ('MESH:D001847', 'Disease') :: ['decreased BMD']
@entity22597 :: (386653,Gene) :: ['IL-31']
