A systematic, quantitative review of blood autoantibodies in schizophrenia

Amaka Ezeoke, Andrew Mellor, Peter Buckley, Brian Miller

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

93 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: Schizophrenia is associated with immune system dysfunction, including an increased prevalence of autoimmune disorders and autoantibodies. We performed a systematic, quantitative review of self-reacting blood antibodies in patients with schizophrenia. Method: We identified articles by searching PubMed, PsychInfo, and ISI, and the reference lists of identified studies. Results: Eighty-one of 111 studies identified met the inclusion criteria. There was a significant increased prevalence of positive titers for 20 different autoantibodies in patients with schizophrenia compared to controls. The prevalence of positive anti-cardiolipin IgG and NMDA receptor titers was also significantly increased in subjects with first-episode psychosis versus controls (p < 0.01). Absolute titers for anti-cardiolipin IgG and IgM, and nerve growth factor were significantly increased in patients with schizophrenia compared to controls (p < 0.02 for each). Conclusion: Schizophrenia is associated with an increased prevalence of multiple autoantibodies, although there is marked study heterogeneity, and correlations between autoantibodies and clinical features are inconsistent. This area merits more research evaluation, especially controlling for potential confounding factors such as clinical status, age, genetic background, psychotropic medications, BMI, and smoking.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)245-251
Number of pages7
JournalSchizophrenia Research
Volume150
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2013

Keywords

  • Autoantibody
  • Autoimmune
  • Epidemiology
  • First-episode psychosis
  • Immunology
  • Meta-analysis
  • Schizophrenia

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Biological Psychiatry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A systematic, quantitative review of blood autoantibodies in schizophrenia'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this