Peripheral inflammatory biomarkers of methamphetamine withdrawal based on the neuro-inflammation hypothesis: the possible improvement effect of exercise

Abstract Background Investigate how exercise affects the desire for methamphetamine (MA) withdrawal and to explore the mechanisms of peripheral inflammation. Methods Ninety methamphetamine withdrawal patients participated enrolled in the study. The subjects were grouped according to the degree of craving induced by the clues: non craving control group (NCC group), craving control group (CC group) and craving exercise group (CE group). The CE group performed aerobic combined resistance training. The ELISA method was then used to detect plasma IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β concentrations, Visual Analogue Scale(VAS) measurement of cue-induced cravings under Virtual Reality(VR) exposure (VR-VAS) and the Desires for Drug Questionnaire (DDQ) were used to assess cravings. Results Plasma IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, levels as well as the VR-VAS and DDQ scores of methamphetamine withdrawal patients were significantly reduced after exercise; The scores of VR-VAS were positively correlated with the plasma concentrations of IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β. Conclusions This study confirmed that plasma IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β can be used as biomarkers of peripheral inflammation in methamphetamine withdrawal patients to predict the degree of craving. At the same time,eight weeks of incremental load aerobic combined with resistance training reduces peripheral inflammation, significantly reduces the level of craving for MA extraction.