INTERFERON GAMMA IN SCHIZOPHRENIA
AN OVERVIEW
Matthias Rothermundt*.
University of Lübeck, Germany
On the search for biological factors that might be
part of the etiology or pathogenesis of schizophrenia several
groups have focused on immunological research. Especially
cytokine research in schizophrenia has yielded increasingly
consistently results. Interferon gamma as one of the most
important antiviral agents of the body has been the subject
of psychoimmunological research of our group during the last
years.
We showed a decreased production of interferon gamma
(IFN-g )
upon mitogen stimulation in acutely psychotic schizophrenic
patients. It remains decreased over a period of 6 weeks
during treatment and psychopathological improvement. Remitted
schizophrenics in a residual state of disease and first
degree relatives of patients suffering from schizophrenia on
the other hand showed no difference in the IFN-g production compared to
matched healthy controls.
The decreased IFN-g production in acute
schizophrenia is unlikely to be caused by an upregulation of
Th2 cytokines or by the influence of the serum cortisol
level. In a recent study we were able to show that the
decreased production of INF-g most probably is not caused by
psychotrophic medication.
The results of several studies are presented and
different hypotheses concerning the role of an
immunodysfunction in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia are
discussed.
Last revised on 05 July 2000.
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