Neuroinflammation and Behavioral Alterations in Pulmonary Tuberculosis, the Potential Mechanisms and Therapies

TuberculosisTuberculosis (TB) is a significant infectious disease and a public health problem. Lungs are the organs most frequently affected by TB; despite this, TB patients suffer from depression and anxietyAnxiety. The cause of depression and anxietyAnxiety in TB patients is attributed to social factors such as perception of illness severity, social stigma, povertyPoverty, social isolationSocial isolation, and habits like alcoholismAlcoholism and smokingSmoking. However, some biological factors could contribute to the establishment of depression and anxietyAnxiety in TB patients. This chapter presents aspects of the neuroimmunological communication that may contribute to this process. When inflammation turns chronic, it could generate neuroinflammatory processes related to cognitive dysfunction and behavior problems such as depression and anxietyAnxiety. Related to this, we found that the substantial lung inflammation associated with TB, characterized by high cytokine production, causes neuroinflammationNeuroinflammation and behavioral impairments in a murine model of pulmonary TB without brain infection. Activating neuroendocrine regulators is another biological process related to depression and anxietyAnxiety. Changes in the homeostasisHomeostasis of the HPA axis, the SNS, and the VP are some endocrinological changes related to depression and anxietyAnxiety in TB. Finally, we discuss some therapeutic approaches that could be used to treat neuroinflammationNeuroinflammation and psychiatric disorders in TB patients.