[Clinical and immunological relationships in patients with early schizophrenia]

To study clinical and immunological relationships in patients with early schizophrenia during remission.

Forty-eight patients (53% females and 47% males) were examined at the initial stage of schizophrenia during remission (age 28.3±5.8 years). The duration of the disease was 2.7±1.3 years. The control group consisted of healthy males and females aged 18 to 30 years. The study used clinical-psychopathological and laboratory methods, as well as scale assessment.

In patients with early schizophrenia in remission, in 70% of cases, there was an increase in blood levels of cytokines IL-6, IL-9, IL-10, IL-13, IL-22, TNF-α, CCL20/MIP3α (p<0.001) compared to the control group. Levels of IL-4 (r=0.45; p=0.023) and IL-9 (r=0.48; p=0.014) correlated with disease duration. The PANSS composite index correlated with IL-6 levels (r=0.46; p=0.022). Levels of several pro-inflammatory blood cytokines were significantly higher in patients treated with first-generation antipsychotics compared with patients treated with second-generation antipsychotics (p<0.001).

Changes in the concentrations of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory interleukins, which are involved in the development of a nonspecific immune response as part of the systemic inflammatory response in patients with early schizophrenia during remission, have been demonstrated. The results suggest that in patients with the first episode of schizophrenia, the activation of immune inflammation plays a significant role in the development of the disease. Over time, such activation may stabilize and is associated with a greater severity of psychopathological symptoms.