Altered serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor in first-episode drug-naïve and chronic medicated schizophrenia

• Published in: Psychiatry research 2018-06, Vol.264, p.361-365
• Main Authors: Ye, Fei, Zhan, Qiongqiong, Xiao, Wenhuan, Tang, Xiaowei, Li, Jin, Dong, Hui, Sha, Weiwei, Zhang, Xiaobin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Antipsychotic Agents - administration & dosage; Antipsychotics; Biomarkers - blood; Cross-Sectional Studies; Drug Administration Schedule; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - blood; Schizophrenia - diagnosis; Schizophrenia - drug therapy; Vascular endothelial growth factor; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - blood; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.04.027

•The serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels were altered in FEP patients.•There was correlation between serum VEGF levels and the PANSS negative subscale.•Imbalanced neurotrophic factors may be associated with the onset of schizophrenia. There is much evidence of a relationship between alterations in the brain's regional cellular energy metabolism and blood flow in schizophrenic. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a role in the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric illnesses. So, we compared serum VEGF levels in drug-naïve first-episode psychotic (FEP) and chronically medicated schizophrenic to examine if a correlation existed between VEGF and psychopathological symptoms. The serum VEGF levels were assessed in 46 FEP patients, 47 chronic medicated patients and 50 healthy controls. Symptoms of schizophrenia were evaluated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure serum VEGF levels. VEGF levels were significantly lower in FEP patients compared to both chronically medicated schizophrenic patients and healthy controls, while VEGF levels in chronically medicated patients were markedly higher than in healthy controls. Furthermore, a significant correlation was detected between the levels and the PANSS negative subscale among patient groups. However, no significant correlation was observed between VEGF and clinical variables in patients. This study suggested that imbalanced neurotrophic factors may be associated with the onset of schizophrenia, but subsequent increased VEGF may be related to medication or other factors in disease progression.