Abstract
Introduction: It is well established that cortical volume are decreased in patients with schizophrenia. One possible explanation is that the increased pro-inflammatory status in schizophrenia is related to volumetric decrease of gray matter. The aim of this study was to correlate interleukin 6 (IL-6) with cortical volume in patients with schizophrenia and controls. Methods: We selected 36 patients with schizophrenia and 35 controls. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) was correlated with cortical volume in patients with schizophrenia and controls. Results: IL-6 was negatively correlated with cortical volume (p = 0.027; rho = −0.370) in patients, but not in controls (p = 0.235). Discussion: Our results are in line with previous studies suggesting that chronic inflammatory activation in patients with schizophrenia could be one plausible mechanism that could contribute for the cortical volumetric decrease often seen in this population. However, this cross-sectional study with a small number of patients does not allow us to establish causal relations.
Highlights
It is well established that cortical volume are decreased in patients with schizophrenia
Our results are in line with previous studies suggesting that chronic inflammatory activation in patients with schizophrenia could be one plausible mechanism that could contribute for the cortical volumetric decrease often seen in this population
The progressive volume changes in temporal and frontal lobes observed in patients with schizophrenia are striking in light of cross-sectional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies showing prominent volume deficits in these regions
Summary
It is well established that cortical volume are decreased in patients with schizophrenia. Structural deficits noted in studies include increased lateral ventricular volumes, decreased frontal lobes and thalamic volumes, grey matter loss within the anterior cingulate, superior temporal gyrus and hippocampus, and decreased overall cerebral size[2]. The progressive volume changes in temporal and frontal lobes observed in patients with schizophrenia are striking in light of cross-sectional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies showing prominent volume deficits in these regions. The hippocampal volume of anyone is the result of several features; for instance, the presence and severity of comorbidities (like diabetes mellitus), as well as therapeutic measures aiming to get better fitness, can enlarge the size of the hippocampus. Many medical conditions can influence the size of the hippocampus with ageing, including vascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease, as well as other common diseases like traumatic brain injury and clinical depression. Multiple vascular risk factors are present in the ISSN 2357-9730 http://seer.ufrgs.br/hcpa
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