Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factors in Taiwanese patients with drug-naïve first-episode schizophrenia: effects of antipsychotics

Objectives: Brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNF) are known to be related to the psychopathology of schizophrenia. However, studies focussing on drug-naïve first-episode schizophrenia are still rare. Methods: Over a 5-year period, we investigated the serum BDNF levels in patients with first-episode drug-naïve schizophrenia and compared them to age- and sex-matched healthy controls. We also explored the association between antipsychotic doses, positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) scores, and serum BDNF levels before and after a 4-week antipsychotic treatment. Results: The baseline serum BDNF levels of 34 patients were significantly lower than those of the controls (df = 66, P = .001). Although the PANSS scores of 20 followed-up patients improved significantly after antipsychotic treatment, the elevation of the serum BDNF levels was not statistically significant (P = .386). In addition, Pearson’s correlation test showed significant correlations between pre-treatment negative scale scores and percentage changes in BDNF (P = .002). Conclusions: The peripheral BDNF levels in Taiwanese patients with drug-naïve first-episode schizophrenia, compared with healthy controls, did not elevate after antipsychotic treatment, and pre-treatment negative symptoms played a pivotal role in trajectories of serum BDNF levels. Large samples will be needed in future studies to verify these results.