Abstract
Background: Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is one of the neuromodulators crucial for the survival, development and function of neurones in the brain and nervous system. Several authors linked its changes in production and concentration to Schizophrenia syndromes. Aim: This systematic review examined the available evidence to clarify the association between plasma BDNF levels and Schizophrenia. Method: Initial searches revealed 266 records. After screening of abstracts, 20 studies were selected. Following a preliminary review, 14 studies were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Results: Of the 14 studies (910 patients, 717 controls) 8 reported decreased BDNF levels in patients with schizophrenia as compared to controls; 3 studies (274/128) found increased BDNF levels; while 3 (62/62) reported no group differences. Meta-analysis of all pooled studies confirmed reduced BDNF levels in schizophrenia versus controls (medium effect size); however, the group difference was not significant when studies using unmedicated cases were considered. Conclusion: The cumulative evidence indicates reduced BDNF levels existing in schizophrenia. However, findings are less clear in unmedicated cases, suggesting that reduced BDNF levels in schizophrenia may be associated with symptom chronicity and/or chronic effects of antipsychotic medication.
Highlights
Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a protein that is heavily involved in development of the nervous system across species, and in the regulation of synaptic transmission.During development, BDNF has been implicated in survival of stem cells, neurogenesis and neuronal differentiation along with the polarization and guidance of neurones
From a total of 14 studies used in the final list, 8 showed a decrease in BDNF levels in patients with schizophrenia [11,12,14,15,16,17,18,19] [and 3 studies reported no significant difference in BDNF between cases and controls [20,21,22], of which 1 [20] found differences only between types of schizophrenia. 3 studies showed an increase in relation to controls [13,23,24]
When meta-analysis was conducted as a function of patient medication status, BDNF was significantly reduced in patients with schizophrenia versus controls when studies in medicated cases were considered; but not when studies in unmedicated cases were considered
Summary
Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a protein that is heavily involved in development of the nervous system across species, and in the regulation of synaptic transmission.During development, BDNF has been implicated in survival of stem cells, neurogenesis and neuronal differentiation along with the polarization and guidance of neurones. The Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) was characterized for the first time more than a decade ago It belongs to the neurotrophin family, which includes nerve growth factor (NGF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and neurotrophin-4 (NT-4). Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is one of the neuromodulators crucial for the survival, development and function of neurones in the brain and nervous system. Meta-analysis of all pooled studies confirmed reduced BDNF levels in schizophrenia versus controls (medium effect size); the group difference was not significant when studies using unmedicated cases were considered. Findings are less clear in unmedicated cases, suggesting that reduced BDNF levels in schizophrenia may be associated with symptom chronicity and/or chronic effects of antipsychotic medication
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