Abstract
Exercise plays an important role in brain plasticity, leading to improvements in cognitive function and delaying the cognitive deterioration of healthy people. These effects can be observed in individuals with schizophrenia through improvements in their performance in cognitive tasks and a decrease in the symptomology of the disease. In this review we examine the current evidence for the roles that exercise and the immune system play in patients with schizophrenia, and specifically analyze the interleukin-6 (IL-6) pathway as a potential mechanism resulting in these positive effects. Inflammation and high levels of IL-6 are associated with both the severity of schizophrenia and the cognitive impairment suffered throughout the disease. Performing regular exercise can modulate IL-6 by lowering its basal levels and by causing lower acute increases in the plasma levels of this cytokine in response to exercise (an anti-inflammatory response to physical exertion). Although there is evidence for the positive effects of physical exercise on schizophrenia, more studies will be required to better understand how variation in different exercise parameters affects both the acute and chronic plasma levels of IL-6.
Highlights
Schizophrenia affects approximately 24 million people around the world and is considered a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by ‘positive symptoms’,‘negative symptoms’, and cognitive deficits [1]
In this article we examine the relationships between schizophrenia, exercise, and the immune system, and look at the current evidence regarding IL-6 as one of the potential mechanisms through which exercise could produce improvements in the symptoms of schizophrenia
The interaction of multiple factors in the immune system mean that doubts remain about the exact mechanisms which interrelate it with schizophrenia and exercise, recent work has emerged highlighting an important role for IL-6 in this context
Summary
Schizophrenia affects approximately 24 million people around the world and is considered a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by ‘positive symptoms’ (hallucinations and delusions),. The latest evidence supports a model which describes that the onset of oxidative stress stimuli and a consequent immune dysfunction may alter cellular homeostasis which, in turn, may determine an aberrant growth of interneurons and, a psychotic symptomatology [5] Within this context, the possible relationship between a psychotic breakdown evolving in schizophrenia and inflammation proteins, such C-reactive protein (CRP), has been investigated [6]. The current evidence, supported by genetic studies, relates this disorder to an imbalance in cytokines and, to dysregulated triggering of inflammatory processes, with IL-6 being at the center of many of these studies [10] This new evidence regarding the possible relationships between the immune system and schizophrenia, together with the lack of efficacy of standard treatments, means that exercise is being considered as a possible treatment for this disease. Google Scholar and the reference lists of retrieved articles were searched in order to identify any additional relevant publications
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