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Changes in pro-inflammatory cytokines and body weight during 6-month risperidone treatment in drug naïve, first-episode schizophrenia

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Abstract

Objective

The present study aimed to examine the changes in pro-inflammatory cytokines and body weight during 6-month risperidone treatment in drug naïve, first-episode schizophrenia.

Methods

Sixty-two drug naïve, first-episode schizophrenia (SZ group) and 60 healthy individuals (control group) were enrolled in the study. Serum interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels, and body weight were measured at baseline for both groups, and repeated for the SZ group at five different time points during 6-month risperidone treatment.

Results

At baseline, serum IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α levels in the SZ group (53.28 ± 12.62, 33.98 ± 14.13, 50.08 ± 12.86 pg/mL, respectively) were significantly higher than those in the control group (23.49 ± 15.27, 15.53 ± 7.16, 32.12 ± 15.23 pg/mL, respectively) (p's < 0.001). Within the SZ group, serum IL-1β levels decreased significantly at 2 weeks (48.02 ± 16.00 pg/mL, p < 0.01) and 1 month (44.70 ± 16.63 pg/mL, p < 0.001), but then gradually increased at 2 months (48.49 ± 18.87 pg/mL), 3 months (50.59 ± 18.48 pg/mL) and 6 months (53.64 ± 16.22 pg/mL) to the levels comparable to baseline; serum IL-6 levels changed significantly over the course of treatment (p = 0.001), but reached the levels comparable to baseline at 6 months (37.13 ± 13.23 pg/mL); serum levels of TNF-α increased significantly at 3 months (55.02 ± 16.69 pg/mL, p < 0.01) and 6 months (58.69 ± 13.57 pg/mL, p < 0.001); steady and significant weight gain was observed at each follow-up time point (p's < 0.001), from 56.71 ± 9.25 kg at baseline to 62.72 ± 9.53 kg at 6 months.

Conclusions

Risperidone treatment is associated with changes in serum pro-inflammatory cytokines levels and weight. There is an initial anti-inflammatory effect that reduces with treatment, potentially due to its weight gain side effect.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this study was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.30971058 to X-QS; No.81071090to L-XL), the Natural Science Foundation of Henan (No.102300413208, 112300413226 to L-XL), and the Youth Fund of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University (to X-QS).

Financial disclosures

Dr. Fan has received research support or honoraria from Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myer-Squibb, Janssen, and Pfizer. Other authors report no competing interests.

Contributors

Dr. Song and Dr. Fan were responsible for the analysis and interpretation of the data for this paper. All authors contributed to the writing of the paper.

Conflict of interest

None of the authors has any actual or potential conflict of interest including any financial, personal, or other relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived to influence, their work as submitted in the uploaded material.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The First Affiliated Hospital/Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China, 450052

    Xueqin Song, Xue Li, Wei Zhang & Jinsong Gao

  2. Henan Province Biological Psychiatry Key Laboratory, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China

    Xueqin Song & Luxian Lv

  3. Psychotic Disorders Program, UMass Memorial Medical Center/University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    Xueqin Song, Xiaoduo Fan, Amy Harrington & Douglas Ziedonis

  4. The Mental Health Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

    Jingping Zhao

  5. Henan Province Mental Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital/Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China, 453003

    Luxian Lv

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  1. Xueqin Song
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Correspondence to Xueqin Song or Luxian Lv.

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Xueqin Song and Xiaoduo Fan share co-first authorship.

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Song, X., Fan, X., Li, X. et al. Changes in pro-inflammatory cytokines and body weight during 6-month risperidone treatment in drug naïve, first-episode schizophrenia. Psychopharmacology 231, 319–325 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-013-3382-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-013-3382-4

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