BackgroundNeurological disorders have overlapping clinical manifestations, creating an urgent need for accessible biomarkers to aid differential diagnosis. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a core neuroinflammatory mediator, yet its expression profile across the full spectrum of neurological disorders remains poorly characterized in large-scale cohorts using a uniform detection platform.
We aimed to map serum IL-6 levels across 10 categories of neurological disorders, with healthy individuals as controls, identify its independent predictors, and evaluate its multi-scenario diagnostic performance.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective observational non-interventional cohort study at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University (a tertiary academic medical center in Wuhan, China) enrolling 6,465 individuals (515 healthy controls, 5,950 patients across 10 neurological disease categories) who underwent serum IL-6 testing via cytometric bead array (CBA) between January 2018 and September 2025. Statistical analyses included Kruskal–Wallis test, multivariable linear regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and decision curve analysis (DCA).
Nested logistic regression models were constructed to evaluate the incremental diagnostic value of IL-6 beyond age and sex.ResultsSerum IL-6 levels showed significant heterogeneity across disease categories (p < 0.001).
Frontiers in Immunology published a clinical update in Infectious Disease on 13 May 2026.
The item focuses on Serum interleukin-6 as a neuroinflammatory biomarker across the spectrum of neurological disorders: a large-scale retrospective cohort study of 6,465 individuals.
Review the original article for the full source wording and details.