Correlation between myelin basic protein levels in cerebrospinal fluid and motor speed in patients with schizophrenia.

Abstract

Alterations in the white matter have been implicated in schizophrenia. Myelin basic protein (MBP), a component of the myelin sheath, in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been suggested as a biomarker for white matter damage in demyelinating diseases. This prompted us to examine the CSF-MBP levels in patients with schizophrenia. We analyzed the CSF-MBP levels in 152 patients with schizophrenia and 117 age- and sex-matched controls. A significant positive correlation between age and CSF-MBP levels was observed both in the patients (p < 0.001) and controls (p = 0.014). No significant difference was observed in the CSF-MBP levels between the two groups. However, among a subsample of the patients (N = 32), a significantly negative correlation was observed between CSF-MBP and age-adjusted motor speed score of the brief assessment of cognition in schizophrenia (ρ = -0.59, p < 0.001). Further, among patients who underwent diffusional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain (N = 27), the CSF-MBP levels showed a significantly negative correlation with the mean kurtosis value in the right temporo-parietal region (p < 0.001). Our results suggest that the CSF-MBP level has limited utility as a diagnostic marker; however, higher CSF-MBP levels are associated with poorer motor speed, which may be associated with regional white matter damage in the brain in patients with schizophrenia.