The association between cytokines and psychomotor speed in a spectrum of psychotic disorders: A longitudinal study

The relationship between inflammatory markers, clinical characteristics, and cognitive performance in drug-naïve patients with schizophrenia

Increasing evidence implicates that inflammatory factors do play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. However, the association between inflammatory markers and different symptom dimensions and cognitive function of schizophrenia remains unclear. A total of 140 drug-naïve patients with schizophrenia and 69 healthy controls matched for age and gender were enrolled. Peripheral blood plasma concentrations of S-100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Psychotic symptoms were measured using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and cognitive function was assessed by the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Compared with healthy controls, patients with schizophrenia had significantly worse cognitive function and lower levels of NGAL and IFN-γ (P < 0.001). In schizophrenia, plasma NGAL and IFN-γ levels negatively correlated with positive symptom scores (all P < 0.05). There was a positive correlation between plasma levels of NGAL and IFN-γ with visual learning, neurocognition, and MCCB total score (all P < 0.05). We found that NGAL levels (β = 0.352, t = 5.553, 95% CI 0.228-0.477, P < 0.001) and negative symptoms subscale scores (β = - 0.321, OR = 0.725, 95% CI 648-0.811, P < 0.001) were independently associated with the MCCB total score. Further, binary logistic regression analysis indicated that the concentrations of NGAL (β = - 0.246, OR = 0.782, 95% CI 0.651-0.939, P = 0.008) were independently associated with the diagnosis of schizophrenia. There was a positive correlation between NGAL and IFN-γ levels and MCCB total score in schizophrenia. NGAL level was an independent protective factor for cognitive function and an independent risk factor for the diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Negative symptoms and neurocognition in drug-naïve schizophrenia: moderating role of plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and interferon-gamma (INF-γ)

Previous studies reported that peripheral inflammation was associated with cognitive performance and brain structure in schizophrenia. However, the moderating effect of inflammation has not been extensively studied. This study investigated whether inflammation markers moderated the association between negative symptoms and neurocognition in schizophrenia. This cross-sectional study included 137 drug-naïve schizophrenia patients (DNS) and 67 healthy controls (HC). We performed the Measurements and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) for cognitive assessment and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for psychiatric symptoms. Plasma concentrations of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) were measured. The MCCB neurocognition score, social cognition score, and total score; the plasma concentrations of NGAL, IFN-γ, and NF-κB were significantly decreased in DNS than in HC (all P's < 0.001). PANSS negative subscale (PNS), PANSS reduced expressive subdomain (RES) negatively correlated with neurocognition score (P = 0.007; P = 0.011, respectively). Plasma concentrations of IFN-γ and NGAL positively correlated with neurocognition score (P = 0.043; P = 0.008, relatively). The interactions of PNS × NGAL; PNS × IFN-γ; RES × IFN-γ accounted for significant neurocognition variance (P = 0.025; P = 0.029, P = 0.007, respectively). Simple slope analysis showed that all the above moderating effects only occurred in patients with near normal IFN-γ and NGAL levels. Plasma concentrations of IFN-γ and NGAL moderated the relationship between negative symptoms (especially RES) and neurocognition in schizophrenia. Treatment targeting inflammation may contribute to neurocognition improvement in schizophrenia.

Brain connectivity markers in degenerative cervical myelopathy patients with depression for predicting the prognosis following decompression surgery

OBJECTIVE

To determine if brain functional connectivity (FC) is associated with the prognosis in depressed degenerative cervical myelopathy patients (DCM) and to investigate the possible brain functional mechanism.

METHODS

Resting-state fMRI scans and peripheral blood cell counts from 33 depressed DCM patients, 33 age and gender-matched DCM patients without depression were analyzed. All patients were evaluated using Japanese Orthopedic Association score before and 6 weeks after decompression surgery. JOA recovery rate was calculated to assess the functional recovery for DCM patients. For each participant, seed-based functional connectivity maps based on sub-regions centered on the striatum were computed and compared between groups. Pearson correlations were performed to explore the relationships between clinical measures and brain alterations in depressed DCM patients. To further investigate the relationships between brain alterations and clinical measures in depressed DCM patients, mediation analyses were performed. Flow cytometry was also performed on the three of the 33 depressed DCM patients, and the results were analyzed.

RESULTS

In comparison to patients without depression, DCM patients exhibited lower FC between the dorsal caudate (dC) and the inferior frontal operculum, which is located in the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). In depressed DCM patients, the altered dC-dlPFC FC was associated with inflammation as determined by the neutrophils/lymphocyte's ratio and prognosis. Furthermore, the mediation analysis demonstrated that the dC-dlPFC FC mediated the effect of inflammation on prognosis. The outcomes of our three cases followed a similar pattern to these findings.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, our findings imply that inflammation slowed the functional recovery in depressed DCM patients through the striatal-frontal FC pathway.