Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40381004›Full record

ArticlePsychopharmacology2026

The role of the endocannabinoid system in the interplay of adverse childhood experiences and interleukin 6 in individuals with borderline personality disorder.

Jennifer Spohrs, Valentin Kühnle, Stefan O Reber, David Mikusky, Niklas Sanhüter, Ana Macchia, Sandra Nickel, Birgit Abler

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Psychopharmacology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Jennifer SpohrsDepartment for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ulm University Medical Centre, Ulm, Germany. Jennifer.spohrs@uni-ulm.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8886-0395
Valentin KühnleDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, Ulm University Medical Centre, Ulm, Germany.
Stefan O ReberLaboratory for Molecular Psychosomatics, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany.
David MikuskyDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, Ulm University Medical Centre, Ulm, Germany.
Niklas SanhüterDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, Ulm University Medical Centre, Ulm, Germany.
Ana MacchiaDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, Ulm University Medical Centre, Ulm, Germany.
Sandra NickelDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, Ulm University Medical Centre, Ulm, Germany.
Birgit AblerDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, Ulm University Medical Centre, Ulm, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

rationaleAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been identified as a major risk factor for psychiatric disorders from childhood to adult life along with the dysregulation of neuroendocrinological processes mediating stress and inflammation. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) has been found to play a putative role in the release of inflammatory cytokines.

objectiveWe investigated the role of the ECS in the interplay between ACEs and interleukin 6 (IL-6) as an inflammatory marker.

methodsWe analysed ACEs (CTQ, Bernstein et al. 2003), plasma IL-6 and endocannabinoid concentrations (anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) in a cohort comprising 48 female individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and 31 matched healthy controls (HCs).

resultsWe found higher IL-6 levels in individuals with BPD compared to HCs and, across all study participants, observed significant positive correlations between AEA, 2-AG and IL-6 levels. CTQ sum scores correlated positively with IL-6 concentrations at a trend level (statistically significant for sexual abuse). Correlations between CTQ sum scores and IL-6 levels were particularly strong in participants with low endocannabinoid levels (lowest three quartiles; n = 57) while in the quartile with the highest endocannabinoid levels (n = 19), no correlations were evident. Furthermore, an exploratory analysis applying a median split for IL-6 levels revealed that the number of individuals with recent suicide attempts (< 1 month ago) was significantly higher in the high IL-6 levels group (OR = 0.22; 95%CI = 0.06-0.86).

conclusionOur findings support the bidirectional link between ACEs and immune system alterations and suggest that endocannabinoids may counteract the stress-inflammatory response.

Indexed as

Adverse Childhood ExperiencesBorderline Personality DisorderEndocannabinoidsInterleukin-6AdultArachidonic AcidsCase-Control StudiesFemaleGlyceridesHumansPolyunsaturated AlkamidesYoung AdultanandamideArachidonic AcidsEndocannabinoidsGlyceridesglyceryl 2-arachidonateIL6 protein, humanInterleukin-6Polyunsaturated Alkamides2-ArachidonoylglycerolAdverse childhood experiencesAnandamideEndocannabinoid systemInterleukin 6Non-suicidal self-injurySuicidal behaviour

Identifiers

PMID40381004
PMCPMC12904954

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.