An Analysis Of Serum Levels Of Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor And The Related Factors In Uygur And Han Patients With Schizophrenia In Xinjiang

Objective: To explore the possible role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in schizophrenia in Xinjiang Uygur and Han. Methods: Eighty-two patients with schizophrenia (41 Uygur and 41 Han) and 100 sex- age-, and education-matched healthy normal controls (50 Uygur and 50 Han) were consecutively recruited in the study. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was used to evaluate the severity of symptoms. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale -24 items (HAMD24) was used to evaluate the severity of depressive symptoms. The serum level of BDNF was detected with sandwich ELISA. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to measure the correlations between serum BDNF and the related illness variables. Results: There were significant differences in the serum levels of BDNF between patients (4.37±1. 95)μg/L and normal controls (6.54±2.21)μg/L (F test, P<0. 01),and post hoc analysis showed the levels in both the Uygur and Han patients were lower than in controls (both P<0.01) , with no difference between the two ethnic groups of patients (P>0.05) . In patients, there were no significantly differences in the BDNF levels between paranoid subtypes of diagnoses and other subtypes. The serum BDNF levels was negatively correlated with score of BPRS absence of vigor symptoms (r=-0.315, P=0.006). The serum BDNF levels was negatively correlated with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale -24 items (HAMD24) scores (r=-0.751 P=0.000). Conclusion: Low serum BDNF levels are possibly correlated with pathophysiology of schizophrenia. BDNF may be a pivotal marker of schizophrenia.