Association Between Schizophrenia and DNA Demethylase Activity in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

Dissecting the Relationship Between Neuropsychiatric and Neurodegenerative Disorders

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) and neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs) are two common causes of death in elderly people, which includes progressive neuronal cell death and behavioral changes. NDDs include Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and motor neuron disease, characterized by cognitive defects and memory impairment, whereas NPDs include depression, seizures, migraine headaches, eating disorders, addictions, palsies, major depressive disorders, anxiety, and schizophrenia, characterized by behavioral changes. Mounting evidence demonstrated that NDDs and NPDs share an overlapping mechanism, which includes post-translational modifications, the microbiota-gut-brain axis, and signaling events. Mounting evidence demonstrated that various drug molecules, namely, natural compounds, repurposed drugs, multitarget directed ligands, and RNAs, have been potentially implemented as therapeutic agents against NDDs and NPDs. Herein, we highlighted the overlapping mechanism, the role of anxiety/stress-releasing factors, cytosol-to-nucleus signaling, and the microbiota-gut-brain axis in the pathophysiology of NDDs and NPDs. We summarize the therapeutic application of natural compounds, repurposed drugs, and multitarget-directed ligands as therapeutic agents. Lastly, we briefly described the application of RNA interferences as therapeutic agents in the pathogenesis of NDDs and NPDs. Neurodegenerative diseases and neuropsychiatric diseases both share a common signaling molecule and molecular phenomenon, namely, pro-inflammatory cytokines, γCaMKII and MAPK/ERK, chemokine receptors, BBB permeability, and the gut-microbiota-brain axis. Studies have demonstrated that any alterations in the signaling mentioned above molecules and molecular phenomena lead to the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases, namely, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and neuropsychiatric disorders, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Lowered serum cesium levels in schizophrenia: association with immune-inflammatory biomarkers and cognitive impairments

Objectives:

A previous study has shown that schizophrenia (SCZ) is accompanied by lowered levels of trace/metal elements, including cesium. However, it is not clear whether changes in cesium, rubidium, and rhenium are associated with activated immune-inflammatory pathways, cognitive impairments, and the symptomatology of SCZ.

Methods:

This study measured cesium, rubidium, and rhenium, cognitive impairments (using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia [BACS]), and the levels of cytokines/chemokines interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and eotaxin (CCL11) in 120 patients with SCZ and 54 healthy controls. Severity of illness was assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), the Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Rating (FF) Scale, and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D).

Results:

Serum cesium was significantly lower in patients with SCZ as compared with controls. Further, serum cesium was significantly and inversely associated with CCL11 and TNF-α, but not IL-1β, in patients with SCZ; significant inverse associations were also noted between serum cesium levels and BPRS, FF, HAM-D, and SANS scores. Finally, cesium was positively correlated with neurocognitive probe results including the Tower of London, Symbol Coding, Controlled Word Association, Category Instances, Digit Sequencing Task, and List Learning tests.

Conclusion:

The results suggest that lowered serum cesium levels may play a role in the pathophysiology of SCZ, contributing to specific symptom domains including negative, depressive and fatigue symptoms, neurocognitive impairments (spatial working, episodic, and semantic memory and executive functions), and neuroimmune pathways.