Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci.  2019 Mar;17(2):244-249. 10.9758/cpn.2019.17.2.244.

Serum Levels of High Sensitivity C-reactive Protein in Drug-naïve First-episode Psychosis and Acute Exacerbation of Schizophrenia

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Gülhane Medical Faculty, Health Sciences University, Ankara, Turkey. m.sinan.aydin@hotmail.com

Abstract


OBJECTIVE
Findings about inflammatory processes in schizophrenia are increasing day by day. Inflammatory processes in schizophrenia are associated with both its etiology and clinical symptoms. Serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is also one of these inflammatory processes. Particularly, it is thought to be closely related to clinical findings of patients with schizophrenia.
METHODS
In this study, the relationship between clinical findings of hsCRP levels of patients with drug-naïve first-episode psychosis (FEP) and patients with schizophrenia in acute exacerbation phase is investigated. Clinical findings, psychometric properties (the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale), and hsCRP levels of patients were compared.
RESULTS
Forty-eight patients with FEP, 74 patients with schizophrenia in acute exacerbation phase and 54 healthy controlled volunteers are included in the study. The most substantial finding in the study is that there is a positive correlation between hsCRP levels and severity of positive symptoms of both patient groups, with FEP and with schizophrenia. The second most substantial finding is there is no significant difference between patients with FEP and schizophrenia, in terms of hsCRP.
CONCLUSION
The relationship between hsCRP and positive symptom severity in two groups of patients supports the inflammatory hypothesis in the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia. This finding is supportive of close relation between inflammatory processes and clinical findings of patient with schizophrenia.

Keyword

C-reactive protein; Psychosis; Schizophrenia

MeSH Terms

C-Reactive Protein*
Humans
Polytetrafluoroethylene
Psychometrics
Psychotic Disorders*
Schizophrenia*
Volunteers
C-Reactive Protein
Polytetrafluoroethylene
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