Elevated concentrations of circulating cytokines and correlations with nerve conduction velocity in human peripheral nerves

The purpose of the current study was to quantify the potential relationship between various cytokines and peripheral nerve function in humans, in-vivo. Measures of nerve conduction velocity (NCV) were examined prior to and following the induction of a cytokine spike. A significant negative correlation was found between the change in IL-1ra and the change in NCV at 24 h post-exercise (r = − 0.65, p = 0.02) while a significant positive correlation was found between the change in IL-6 and the change in NCV at 2 h post-exercise (r = 0.61, p = 0.048). It may be possible that different cytokines induce a unique neural influence at elevated concentrations.