The interaction of lipids and inflammatory markers predict negative symptom severity in patients with schizophrenia

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: David Goldsmith, Emory University; Nicholas Massa, Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Brian J. Miller, Augusta University; Andrew Miller, Emory University; Erica Duncan, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-10-20
• Publisher: NATURE PORTFOLIO
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2021
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41537-021-00179-8
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: NPJ SCHIZOPHRENIA
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 50
• End Page: 50
• Grant/Funding Information: Supported by grants from the Department of Veterans Affairs to E.D. (1 I01 CX000974-01A1, 1 I21 RX001897-01, and Merit Review Grant, Sensorimotor Gating in Schizophrenia) and from the National Institute of Mental Health to D.R.G. (K23 MH114037). Additional grant support was provided to E.D. from the National Institute of Mental Health (1 R01 MH117315-01A1, R21 MH117512-01). Infrastructure support was provided by the Office of Research and Development, the Mental Health Service Lines, and the Center of Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Decatur, GA. Additional infrastructure support was provided by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA.
• Keywords: Science & Technology; REWARD; TNF-ALPHA; Psychiatry; SIGNATURES; GLUCOSE; CRP; DYSFUNCTION; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; METABOLISM
• Research Categories: Psychology, Clinical; Psychology, Cognitive

Abstract

Finding biological predictors and novel mechanisms underlying negative symptoms of schizophrenia is of significant importance given the lack of effective treatments. Increasing data support a role for metabolic dysfunction and inflammation in reward processing deficits in psychiatric illness. Herein, we found an interaction between lipids and inflammation as a predictor of worse negative symptom severity in individuals with schizophrenia. Future studies may seek to further elucidate this relationship and thereby reveal novel treatment targets for negative symptoms.