Abstract
Multiple lines of evidence indicate that immunological and inflammatory alterations contribute at least in a subgroup to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. In this retrospective chart review, we investigated whether clinical factors contribute to altered cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Clinical data from electronic medical records of patients with psychotic disorders (ICD-10: F20-F29) who received routine CSF diagnostics at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU Munich, Germany, were included. Chi(2) tests for dichotomous outcomes and independent t tests for continuous outcomes were used to compare differences between groups. A total of 331 patients were included in the analyses (43.2% female and 56.8% male). The mean age was 37.67 years (+/- 15.58). The mean duration of illness was 71.96 months (+/- 102.59). In all, 40% (128/320) were first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients and 60% (192/320) were multi-episode psychosis (MEP) patients. Elevated CSF protein levels were found in 19.8% and elevated CSF/serum albumin ratios (Q(Alb)) in 29.4% of the cases. Pleocytosis was found in 6.1% of patients. MEP patients showed significantly higher mean Q(Alb) compared with FEP patients (t((304.57)) = -2.75, p = 0.006), which did not remain significant after correcting for age. Q(Alb) elevation occurred more frequently in men (X-(1)(2) = 14.76, p = <0.001). For treatment resistance, family history, and cMRI alterations, no significant differences in CSF-related outcomes were detected. Our work extends other retrospective cohorts confirming a relevant degree of CSF alterations in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and shows the difficulty to relate these alterations to clinical and disease course trajectories. More research is needed to develop treatment response predictors from CSF analyses.
Item Type: | Journal article |
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Faculties: | Medicine |
Subjects: | 600 Technology > 610 Medicine and health |
ISSN: | 2158-3188 |
Language: | English |
Item ID: | 100990 |
Date Deposited: | 05. Jun 2023, 15:36 |
Last Modified: | 17. Oct 2023, 15:06 |