Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Sep;176(1):3-13.
doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2014.07.025. Epub 2014 Aug 12.

Neuroimmune biomarkers in schizophrenia

Jakub Tomasik  1 , Hassan Rahmoune  2 , Paul C Guest  2 , Sabine Bahn  3
Affiliations
Review

Neuroimmune biomarkers in schizophrenia

Jakub Tomasik et al. Schizophr Res. 2016 Sep.

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous psychiatric disorder with a broad spectrum of clinical and biological manifestations. Due to the lack of objective tests, the accurate diagnosis and selection of effective treatments for schizophrenia remains challenging. Numerous technologies have been employed in search of schizophrenia biomarkers. These studies have suggested that neuroinflammatory processes may play a role in schizophrenia pathogenesis, at least in a subgroup of patients. The evidence indicates alterations in both pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules in the central nervous system, which have also been found in peripheral tissues and may correlate with schizophrenia symptoms. In line with these findings, certain immunomodulatory interventions have shown beneficial effects on psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia patients, in particular those with distinct immune signatures. In this review, we evaluate these findings and their potential for more targeted drug interventions and the development of companion diagnostics. Although currently no validated markers exist for schizophrenia patient stratification or the prediction of treatment efficacy, we propose that utilisation of inflammatory markers for diagnostic and theranostic purposes may lead to novel therapeutic approaches and deliver more effective care for schizophrenia patients.

Keywords: Add-on treatment; Biomarker; Immune system; Personalised medicine; Schizophrenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources