Reduced levels of vascular endothelial growth factor were associated with psychopathology in youth with first-episode schizophrenia

IF 3.5 2区医学 Q1 PSYCHIATRY

Schizophrenia Research Pub Date : 2025-09-04 DOI:10.1016/j.schres.2025.08.020

Ju-Wei Hsu , Li-Chi Chen , Wei-Chen Lin , Ya-Mei Bai , Shih-Jen Tsai , Mu-Hong Chen

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Abstract

Background

Youth is a critical period for brain development, yet first-episode schizophrenia (FES) during this stage remains understudied, particularly concerning the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in schizophrenia-related psychopathology and cognitive dysfunction.

Methods

This study enrolled 32 youth (ages 12–24) with FES and 35 age−/sex-matched healthy controls. Serum VEGF levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Clinical symptoms were evaluated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS); executive function was assessed using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Generalized linear models were applied to assess VEGF levels between patients and controls and to examine an association between VEGF levels and PANSS scores.

Results

Youth with FES exhibited significantly lower VEGF levels compared to controls (p = 0.002). VEGF levels were negatively associated with PANSS disorganization scores (B = −0.12, p = 0.002) and positively associated with PANSS emotional distress scores (B = 0.17, p = 0.035). No significant associations were found between VEGF levels and WCST parameters.

Conclusion

Reduced levels of VEGF may be a biomarker of FES. Our findings further suggest that VEGF levels may reflect specific aspects of schizophrenia pathology, particularly disorganization and emotional distress. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanistic role of VEGF in cognitive and emotional processes in FES and its potential as a therapeutic target.

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青少年首发精神分裂症患者血管内皮生长因子水平降低与精神病理相关

青少年是大脑发育的关键时期，但这一阶段的首发精神分裂症（FES）仍未得到充分研究，特别是关于血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）在精神分裂症相关精神病理和认知功能障碍中的作用。方法本研究招募了32名FES青年（12-24岁）和35名年龄/性别匹配的健康对照。采用酶联免疫吸附法测定血清VEGF水平。采用阳性和阴性证候量表（PANSS）评价临床症状；使用威斯康辛卡片分类测验（WCST）评估执行功能。应用广义线性模型评估患者和对照组之间的VEGF水平，并检查VEGF水平与PANSS评分之间的关系。结果FES组VEGF水平明显低于对照组（p = 0.002）。VEGF水平与PANSS紊乱评分呈负相关（B = - 0.12, p = 0.002），与PANSS情绪困扰评分呈正相关（B = 0.17, p = 0.035）。VEGF水平与WCST参数之间无显著相关性。结论VEGF水平降低可能是FES的一个生物标志物。我们的研究结果进一步表明，VEGF水平可能反映精神分裂症病理的特定方面，特别是紊乱和情绪困扰。需要进一步的研究来阐明VEGF在FES认知和情绪过程中的机制作用及其作为治疗靶点的潜力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Schizophrenia Research 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

7.50

自引率

8.90%

发文量

429

审稿时长

10.2 weeks

期刊介绍： As official journal of the Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS) Schizophrenia Research is THE journal of choice for international researchers and clinicians to share their work with the global schizophrenia research community. More than 6000 institutes have online or print (or both) access to this journal - the largest specialist journal in the field, with the largest readership! Schizophrenia Research''s time to first decision is as fast as 6 weeks and its publishing speed is as fast as 4 weeks until online publication (corrected proof/Article in Press) after acceptance and 14 weeks from acceptance until publication in a printed issue. The journal publishes novel papers that really contribute to understanding the biology and treatment of schizophrenic disorders; Schizophrenia Research brings together biological, clinical and psychological research in order to stimulate the synthesis of findings from all disciplines involved in improving patient outcomes in schizophrenia.